Moonlight
by Aerle
Summary: '"I was told Fenwick was a pseudonym and that the real author was Marco Newgate. That's you, right?" Ace asked. "It is, but the person who told you that must be mistaken," Marco said curtly. "It's not my book." He was a serious researcher, after all. A well respected zoologist.' Urban fantasy story.
1. Chapter 1

Written for the last day, day 7, of the MarcoAce week. Today does not have a theme, so I decided to write an urban fantasy story.

This too was supposed to be a ficlet, but because MyLadyDay is a bad influence on me, it will be a (short) multichapter story.

Thanks Vergina-spva for beta'ing!

* * *

There was a knock on the door of Marco's office, and he hastily put his current research underneath some assignments of students he still had to correct, before calling to enter. A young man came in, but he wasn't one of Marco's students, nor did he look familiar. "Can I help you?" Marco asked.

"I hope so," the man said. "I'm Ace. I'm here about your book."

"I'm flattered, but I don't do private signings," Marco said, putting some books that had been lying on his desk on the shelf behind him. "But there is a signing session next week…" He trailed off when he turned around and saw which book Ace was holding out. _The_ book. _The Truth About Mythological Creatures_ , by Marco Fenwick. A book that talked about how mythological creatures were real and should be studied, written by a cryptozoologist.

Marco swallowed hard, before turning away again. "That's not my book," he said firmly.

"I was told Fenwick was a pseudonym and that the real author was Marco Newgate. That's you, right?" Ace asked.

"It is, but the person who told you that must be mistaken," Marco said curtly. "It's not my book." He was a serious researcher, after all. A well respected zoologist.

"I'm not here to make fun of you," Ace pleaded. "I need your help."

Marco raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued. "On what?"

Ace fidgeted a little with the book in his hand. "I think I might be a werewolf."

A silence fell between them, as Marco tried to think of what to say. People didn't often walk up to him claiming to be a mythological creature, but then again, he was a renowned zoologist, not some pseudo scientist. This kid was right that he needed help, but Marco doubted he was the one who should give it. A good doctor or psychiatrist was more like it.

"Look, Ace, was it?" When Ace nodded, he continued, "I'm sure you have good reasons to think you're a werewolf, but–"

"I do!" Ace interrupted him. "Every morning after a full moon, I wake up naked with no recollection what happened the night before!"

"There are a number of explanations for that," Marco replied. "None of them has to do with being a werewolf."

"Like what?"

"I don't know, maybe you got drunk or took some kind of medication." Marco sat down behind his desk again.

Ace frowned, looking disappointed. "I was told you would take me seriously." He placed the book on Marco's desk as if that would jog his memory. "The book describes the same symptoms."

Marco sighed, rubbing his temples. "I told you, it's not my book. Did Thatch put you up to this? It sounds like something he would do."

"No, I was sent by a guy named Shanks."

Marco grit his teeth. _That damned blabbermouth!_ Sending weird kids here… "I'm sorry, Ace, I can't help you. Maybe don't watch any more scary movies before bed."

"Fine," Ace spat, his jaw clenched. "But the next time I turn and I maul someone, it's on you!" He turned around to leave, but before he could put his hand on the doorknob, Marco called him back.

"Wait!"

Ace turned around.

Marco sighed and rose. He couldn't believe he was doing this. "Here is my card. If during the next full moon you still think you need my help, call me." He handed Ace his business card.

Ace's face brightened. "So the book _is_ yours!"

"I admit to nothing."

That didn't seem to dampen Ace's spirits. "Thanks anyway! I will call!" He all but skipped out of Marco's office.

Marco sighed and sat down behind his desk, wondering if he had done the right thing. Only then he noticed that the book was still lying in front of him, and he hastened himself towards the door. "Wait, Ace, you forgot your…" He trailed off when he saw that the hallway was empty. With a sigh, he closed the door of his office behind him, trailing his finger along the cover of the book.

It was a long time since he wrote it, but how could he admit to that? If the truth came out, he would be the laughing stock of the entire scientific world, and he had worked so hard to be taken seriously. But that didn't mean that he didn't believe in mythological creatures.

Turning to the window, his body slowly changed.

After all, how could you not believe, if you and your family were living proof that these creatures existed?


	2. Chapter 2

A flash of lightning lit up his room, and Marco looked up from the essay he was grading. Rain was dripping down from the window of his office. It was almost a spooky night.

Not that Izo would like him calling it that, but Izo wasn't here right now. Or at least, Marco assumed he wasn't. With those ghosts and their damn ability to turn invisible you could never know for sure.

Marco rose from his desk chair and walked to the window, looking outside to the deserted streets. There was something in the air tonight. Something other than the storm. Something…

Before he could finish that thought, his phone started to ring, and Marco hurried back to his desk to pick it up. A number he didn't know flashed up on the screen, and with a raised eyebrow, he picked up. "Hello?"

"It's a full moon tonight," a grave voice at the other end of the line greeted him.

So that was what was in the air. Still, he wondered why the stranger felt the need to disclose this information to him. He walked back to the window, brushing aside the curtain. "It's also raining."

It remained silent for a second. "Wait, what?" the stranger then said, sounding much less grave and rather confused.

"I thought we were exchanging facts about the weather," Marco replied dryly.

"No! It's me. Ace. You know," the stranger lowered his voice and continued, sounding slightly embarrassed, "the werewolf."

"Oh, _that_ Ace," Marco said sarcastically. Like he could forget Ace. Well, to be honest, he had, but only because he hadn't considered Ace actually calling him when the moon was full. Marco still doubted he was a werewolf.

"Still, with this many clouds, you won't turn, will you?" Marco continued, looking up at the grey sky and trying not to sound to disinterested.

"They predicted bright spells. Please, you _have_ to help me."

Marco sighed deeply. Really, either this kid was going really far for a prank, or he actually thought he was a werewolf. Marco didn't know which was worse. Still, he had promised he would help – him and his big mouth – so that was what he would do. It was only one night, after all. Once he had proven once and for all that Ace wasn't a werewolf, the kid would no doubt leave him alone.


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks Vergina-spva for beta'ing

* * *

"Thanks for meeting me here at such short notice," Marco said. He was standing in the rain in front of the address Ace had given him. It looked like a normal house, if he was honest, but then again, why would it stand out? He was pretty sure Ace was a normal guy, albeit perhaps crazy. But no mythological creature.

Thatch waved his words away. "Don't mention it. I mean, how often do I get to see a real werewolf?"

"Don't hold your breath on this one," Marco said grimly. "He just as well might be crazy."

"Why do you have be so negative all the time? You said Shanks sent him to you, right? So it's gotta be serious."

Marco gave him a deadpanned look. "Since when do you know Shanks to be serious? He might just as well be having fun with us, or that poor kid." He sighed. "I don't even know why Shanks sent him to me. I'm a professor, not some kind of monster hunter."

"That's your own fault for choosing a boring career," Thatch replied, shrugging.

Marco narrowed his eyes at him.

"Well, only one way to find out if the kid's really a werewolf." Thatch sounded cheerful as he placed the bat he was carrying on his shoulder.

"Is that silver?" Marco asked, an eyebrow raised.

Now it was Thatch's turn to give him a deadpanned look. "Yeah, 'cause I can afford a silver bat. And these are silver chains." He rattled the chains he was holding in his other hand.

"No need to be sarcastic," Marco replied. "What is it for then?"

"Duh. To knock him out if necessary, of course."

Marco rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Okay, but you did come prepared, right? I mean, werewolf specifically."

"Of course." Proudly, Thatch pulled a silver necklace with a tiny cross on it from under his shirt. "See? Multifunctional. He could even be a vampire for all I care."

Marco sighed deeply.

"All right, all right. That's not all I brought. Thatch pulled off his backpack and started digging through it. "Here, dog treats, a bone, a ball…"

"We're going to tie him up if he transforms, not take him for a walk in the park." Marco sighed again. "I should have asked Vista to come."

"Oi, I'm a great sidekick," Thatch said indignantly. "I came here all the way through the rain. You could show some gratitude."

"Alright, I'm sorry. I am grateful you're here. Though, to be honest, I hope you brought all that stuff for nothing."

"You really don't believe he could be a mythological creature?" Thatch asked as he rang the doorbell.

"I hope he isn't, for his sake," Marco replied. "Because then he can continue leading a normal life."

The door opened, and Ace's face brightened when he saw Marco. "Marco! You came! And… friend?"

"I'm Thatch," Thatch introduced himself and took Ace's hand to shake it. Marco noticed that Ace was staring at Thatch's very dry hair, while Marco was drenched and neither was carrying an umbrella or had a hood. Thatch had weird powers, and not even Marco knew all of them.

"He is here in case I need backup," Marco explained. He didn't add that Thatch was there as a witness too, in case Ace didn't turn. Which he probably wouldn't.

"Will he be okay?" Ace asked Marco, a worried frown on his face.

Thatch snorted. "Hey, I'm dating a ghost, and you don't think I can handle a werewolf?"

Ace's eyes widened and he looked at Marco confusedly.

"It's an expression," Marco hastily said and elbowed Thatch in the ribs. Ace might think he was a werewolf, he didn't need any confirmation that there were other mythological creatures out there, and that two of them were currently standing on his doorstep.

"I see. Thank you for coming." Ace bowed, which surprised both Marco and Thatch, before leading them to the living room. "My brothers are staying with friends. I didn't want to endanger them, you know?" He bit his lip, and Marco felt a bit sorry for him. At least Ace really seemed to believe he could endanger his brothers and was worried about them. Marco really wished he himself was right.

"Okay, so just in case, we're gonna chain you up," Thatch said matter-of-factly and held up the chains he was carrying.

Ace stared at them and then looked at Marco, who shrugged.

"It's the safest way to contain you if you turn. Don't worry, we'll stay right here and will try not to rob you."

"Way to put the guy at ease," Thatch said, rolling his eyes so hard Marco was surprised they didn't just pop out.

"The chains sure don't help," Marco shot back.

"Guys, guys!" Ace interrupted their bickering. "It's okay, I understand I need to be chained up for your safety."

"And your own," Marco added.

"And my own," Ace agreed. "Besides, my brothers will be back by morning, so they'll beat you up if you try something."

Marco bit back a sarcastic comment about the likelihood of two humans defeating two mythological creatures. No need to take away Ace's reassurance. Instead, Marco started to help Thatch fasten the chains, with which they tied Ace to a chair.

When they were done, Thatch stepped back to admire his work. "There," he said, sounding pleased with himself. "Try to get out of _that_."

Ace wiggled and fought, but he couldn't get out of the chains. "Seems secure enough," he said, sounding relieved.

"Good. Now, Thatch, you get the TV, then I'll get the money," Marco said with a grin.

Ace's eyes widened, but Thatch slapped him against his arm. "Don't be so mean."

Marco sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine. Just when I was starting to have fun." He made himself comfortable on the couch and grabbed a book from his bag. "It's going to be a long night."

"It may not be as long as you hope." Thatch had pulled the curtains slightly ajar and peeked outside. "The rain has stopped and the clouds are disappearing."

Ace looked at Marco with a frightened look on his face, and suddenly, Marco felt bad about his joke earlier. Ace really believed he might be a werewolf and he was scared, so he should probably be a bit more sensitive. As a gesture of goodwill, he placed a hand on Ace's leg.

"It'll be okay, I promise."

Ace nodded, looking slightly relieved. Marco suddenly felt the urge to ruffle with his hand through Ace's hair, for some reason, and he did so before he could think better of it. Ace didn't seem to mind and smiled at him. He smiled back.

"There we go," Thatch suddenly said, and Marco looked up, startled. He had somehow forgotten Thatch was still there, and had instead been thinking how cute Ace looked, despite being tied up.

"Here we go, what?" he asked instead, clearing his throat when he noticed his voice came out hoarsely.

"The moon is appearing."

Thatch's voice sounded grave, and they turned to Ace, who was sitting wide-eyed on his chair.

Suddenly, Marco found himself hoping that Ace actually was a werewolf. After all, as a mythological creature, he couldn't really date a human now, could he? He had before, and it never ended well. But if Ace was a mythological creature himself…

He shook his head. He shouldn't think like that. Being a mythological creature in a world where they were denied existence wasn't a picnic, and he wouldn't wish it on anybody. Better that Ace was crazy.

Okay, that didn't sound right, but it was the truth.

Moonlight shone through the window, and Marco realised he was holding his breath. For all he claimed that he didn't believe Ace was an actual werewolf, now that the moment of truth had arrived, he wasn't so sure anymore.

Ace's body shuddered, and Marco felt his stomach sink. It couldn't be true, yet it was.

Thatch's hand found his and squeezed it as they watched Ace throw his head back and let out a shriek. His body started to transform, the chains polling tight around his no longer human limbs. Hair sprouted from his body and his eyes turned into those of an animal.

Marco wasn't even aware that he and Thatch had recoiled from the chair until his back hit the wall. Thatch clung to his arm as he whispered, "That is not a wolf!"


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks Vergina-spva for beta'ing

* * *

Sunshine tried to peep through his eyelids, and with a groan, Ace pulled the blanket over his head. He felt like he had been hit by a train, though he couldn't remember drinking last night. In fact, the last thing he remembered was being tied up to a chair with heavy chains.

Suddenly wide awake, Ace shot up in his bed, immediately cursing himself for doing so as a throb of pain shot through his head. However, that did nothing to distract him from the fact that he was not in his own room.

Where the hell was he?!

"Good morning," a somewhat familiar voice said, and Ace turned to the door. Marco had just entered, moving inside the room and taking a seat on a chair. He didn't look like he had been fighting with a werewolf last night, which was both a good and a bad thing. Good for Marco, of course, because being mauled was never fun, but if it meant Ace hadn't turned, he might be crazy after all, which was not such good news.

"How are you feeling?" Marco asked.

"I have a headache," Ace said plaintively, surprised when he felt a bump on his head. He couldn't remember hitting his head.

"I'm not surprised about that. Thatch got you pretty good last night."

Ace looked up confused. "He hit me over the head?"

"He did, but in his defence, you were trying to eat him."

"Eat him?" Ace's eyes widened. "You mean… I did turn?"

Marco nodded.

"So, I am a werewolf." Despite the fact that it meant that he wasn't crazy, Ace couldn't feel happy about it, and his shoulders slumped.

"I wouldn't call it a wolf, per se."

Again, Ace looked up confused. "I'm not a werewolf?"

"More like, a werecat."

"A cat," Ace repeated in a deadpanned voice. "I attacked Thatch… as a cat."

"Don't get me wrong," Marco continued, "you're not a fluffy kitten or anything. Think more leopard."

"I'm a were… _cat_ ," Ace said slowly.

"At least you're not crazy."

"Yeah, that's… great." Ace turned around so that he was facing the wall and pulled the blanket over his head. He was a werecat. Not a werewolf, but a cat. A dangerous cat, if Marco's words were anything to go by. He started wondering if he preferred being crazy.

"I'll just leave you to it," Marco said, and his footsteps moved away from the bed.

"Marco, wait!" Ace sat up. "Where am I?"

At the door, Marco turned around. "You're at my Pops' house."

"Why?"

Marco's lips curled into a smirk. "I promised we wouldn't rob you. We said nothing about not kidnapping you."

"You should really stop scaring the kid," Thatch's voice sounded as he entered, and Ace heaved a sigh of relief. He never knew when Marco was joking or not.

"We figured as a mythological creature, you'd be safer here," Thatch continued. "Sorry about knocking you out, by the way, but to be fair, you attacked me first." He turned his cheek towards Ace, and Ace's eyes widened when he saw the large, bloody gashes.

"I'm so sorry!" he started, but Thatch waved his apology away.

"It's okay." As soon as he said it, the wounds started to heal on their own and within a few seconds, they had disappeared without leaving as much as a scar.

"You never waste an opportunity to show off your powers, do you?" Marco asked, rolling his eyes. Thatch just shrugged with a grin.

"P-powers?" Ace asked. This whole morning was quite overwhelming, and it didn't seem like the surprises would end anytime soon.

Thatch waggled his eyebrows. "You're in for a treat."

"We should really introduce you to the rest of the family," Marco said.

"Right. I'll get started on breakfast. Don't be late!" Thatch called over his shoulder as he left the room.

A silence fell, and Ace fumbled with the blanket. "I'm naked under here, aren't I?"

"Very much so."

"Did you… Did you see me?" Ace asked, suddenly feeling very self conscious.

"I did," Marco replied, "but you were very hairy at the time." He walked over to the bed, only making Ace feel more self-conscious, especially when he reached out. "The bump doesn't seem to be too bad," he said, and Ace tried his best not to lean into the touch. Marco was only checking his injury, after all.

Marco moved away from the bed again and headed for the door. "You should get dressed. The others are dying to meet you." With that, he left.

With a sigh, Ace let himself fall back on the pillow. Things were weird already, and he had a feeling they would only get stranger from here on out. Thatch had some kind of magical powers, or Ace had been hit really hard on the head that he was hallucinating. He was fairly certain he preferred that option. If not, did it mean Thatch was a mythological creature as well? And if he was, was the rest of his family too? Was Marco?


	5. Chapter 5

It was almost endearing how Ace peaked around the corner of the door, but Marco couldn't really blame him. The kid had had a rough night and an even rougher morning. Thatch had kind of freaked him out, too. Besides, Ace probably had no idea if he could trust them. There were plenty of reasons for him to be wary.

"Just in time," Thatch called out after having noticed Ace as well, and the poor kid flinched at having been caught. "Breakfast is ready."

Marco could hear Ace's stomach grumble from the other side of the room, and Ace threw all caution in the wind, it seemed, when he noticed the frying pan with bacon Thatch was holding. Within seconds, he was in the middle of the room. Marco had never seen anyone stuff his face that fast and he had seen werewolves seen eat. Mildly disgusted, he waited until Ace was finished.

In the meantime, Ace didn't seem to have noticed that the room contained anyone else but Thatch and his frying pan. That is, until he was finished eating. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he seemed to become a bit self conscious.

Everyone had remained quiet while Ace had been gobbling up what had to be breakfast for at least three people – not that Marco could blame him, after all, Thatch's knocking him out had prevented him from eating a hearty meal, consisting of Thatch and himself.

When Ace was done, though, and looking around the room, Jozu cleared his throat. "So, you're Ace?"

Ace nodded.

"I'm Jozu." He named the others in the room, though Marco doubted Ace would be able to remember all the names at once. Not even everyone was here, so he was in for a surprise.

"Well, then, there's just the matter of filling in the form," Jozu continued as he picked up a stack of paper and a pen.

"Form?" Ace asked confusedly, looking at Marco for help.

"It's just a formality. Werewolf it was, right?"

"Cat," Ace corrected him, and glanced at Marco again. "Apparently."

"Do you want photos as proof?" Marco scoffed. "Because I have them." Reaching for his phone, he opened the folder with photos, showing them to Ace. "This is you breaking through the chains – for which you'll get the bill, by the way." He swiped to the side. "And this is you trying to eat Thatch's face."

Ace had gotten pale as he stared at the photos. He took the phone from Marco's hand, scrolling through the pictures. His eyebrows raised suddenly, and much to his dread, Marco saw a picture of himself currently on the screen. He hastily snatched the phone back. "That's private."

Slowly, Ace sunk down on the couch, staring into nothing. It was probably only now sinking in what really happened. Seeing yourself as a man-eating cat, about to eat an actual man, couldn't be pleasant. Not that Thatch had liked it Marco had taken pictures when he was about to be mauled, but Izo would want to know what ate his boyfriend.

"Werecat," Jozu finally said. "Then I have the wrong forms." He rose, walked to the archive cabinet and went through the papers. "W," he muttered, "Werecreatures, general. Aha, werecat." Triumphant, he took out the papers, handing the werewolf form to Curiel to put away before taking a seat on the couch next to Ace.

"First name, Ace," he said as he filled it in on the form. "Last name?"

"Portgas," Ace said absent-mindedly.

"Age?"

Ace didn't reply, still staring into space.

Jozu looked up from the form, looking from Ace to Marco. Marco sighed and squatted down in front of Ace, placing a hand on his knee. Ace blinked, looking down at him.

"Ace, I know you're overwhelmed by this. We can do the form later, if you want, but it might actually help you come to grips with it."

Slowly, Ace nodded. "I'm twenty."

Marco patted him on his knee and took a seat on a chair across from him.

Jozu nodded and scribbled something down. "How long have you thought you were a werecat?"

Ace started to laugh, though it sounded hollow. "Actually, not until a few minutes ago."

"Let me rephrase that. How long have you thought to be a mythological creature?"

Ace plucked at the couch. "I don't know, a few months?"

"Are you dangerous when you're transformed?"

"I'll say," Thatch suddenly piped up. "Look at what he did to me!" He pointed at his cheek, as the bloody gashes Ace made with his claws suddenly appeared again.

Ace jumped on the couch, moving backwards in shock, while the rest of the room made disgusted noises. "God, Thatch, don't be disgusting!" Haruta exclaimed. "Don't un-heal wounds! Some of us just ate!"

Thatch shrugged and made the wounds disappear again.

Ace still stared at him in horror, when he suddenly shivered as if he were cold. Wildly, he looked around him. "What the hell was that?!"

"Izo, don't pass through people without their consent," Marco said reprimanding. "That's just rude."

Izo turned visible, just so that Marco could see him roll his eyes, no doubt, and made himself comfortable on Thatch's lap, insofar he needed to.

Ace had grabbed onto the curtains, looking like he might climb into them at any moment – confirming how much of a cat he was – staring at Izo as if he had seen a ghost. Which, in this case, he had.

"Ace, meet Izo. Izo, this is Ace, the guy I told you about," Marco introduced them.

"Ah yes," Izo said, looking Ace up and down. "The kitten."

"Kitten?! Do I need to remind you what he did to me?" Once more, the gashes appeared on Thatch's face, and again he was met with protest.

"You've got to stop doing that!" Curiel exclaimed.

Pouting, Thatch made them disappear again.

Feeling sorry for Ace, Marco turned to him. "By now, I think you've guessed you don't find yourself in ordinary company," he said.

Ace nodded, eyes still wide.

Marco sighed. "I'd hoped to ease you into it more, but oh well. As you can see, Izo is a ghost. You don't have much to fear from him except him peeping and meddling into your business. But I'm pretty sure he was like that when he was still alive."

"Excuse you," Izo said indignantly. "He has plenty to fear from me, thank you very much. And I do not _peep_. Peeping is how I died."

Ace's eyes widened even more, though Marco rolled his own. Izo claimed to have died from something else almost daily. No one knew how he really died, though, except perhaps Thatch.

"And Thatch is harmless too, unless you try to eat him," Marco continued, ignoring Izo.

"Well, I mean, if I'd _known_ he was a cat, I wouldn't have brought dog treats, now would I?" Thatch said. "If I'd brought a ball of yarn, he might not have tried to eat me. But cats do not like dog treats, for some reason. Which I guess I can understand. So next time, I won't treat you like a dog and you won't try to scratch my eyes out, deal?"

Ace nodded, slowly letting go of the curtains while his white knuckles turned back to their original colour. "Are... Are you all mythological creatures?" he whispered.

"The important thing is that you have nothing to fear from us," Marco said. "During full moons, you can stay here if you want."

"Aren't you afraid I'll hurt you?"

"You can't really hurt Thatch, as you saw. Besides, we know how to handle you. We were a little unprepared yesterday because..."

"Because you didn't believe me," Ace said accusingly.

Marco nodded slowly. "That is true. And to be honest, I really hoped I was right."

Ace pulled up his knees, wrapping his arms around it. "I wish you were too," he muttered.

Marco remained silent, as did the others. Thatch nodded with his head to Ace, while looking at Marco meaningfully, trying to convey a silent message. Marco rolled his eyes. Telepathy was not Thatch's strong suit. Still, he was persistent, and eventually, Marco gave in. He moved to the couch, wrapping an arm around Ace. Ace immediately crawled up against him. Unsure what to do, Marco patted him on the back awkwardly.

Jozu rose. "Well, we'll finish this later then. Or Ace can just fill it in himself." He placed the form on the table and left the room.

One by one, the others left as well, ignoring Marco's silent pleas for them to stay while he tried to comfort Ace. Snickering, Izo vanished into thin air as Thatch rose from his seat, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Marco let out a sigh, though he had to admit he didn't mind terribly to have Ace draped over him.


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks Vergina-spva for betaíng and MyLadyDay for approving

* * *

Ace remained in the same position for a while, his face buried in Marco's chest. Marco patted his head absent-mindedly, having grabbed the first book within his reach and started reading.

Finally, Ace stirred, looking up at Marco as he planted his chin on Marco's chest. He still looked upset, though he hadn't cried. "What do I do now?" he asked hoarsely.

"Now? Nothing."

"Nothing?" Ace asked, sounding indignantly. "What do you mean, 'nothing'? How can I do nothing? I'm a monster!"

Marco waited patiently until Ace's rant was over. Then he said, "Don't say monster, it's insulting to all of us. You're a mythological creature. But that only has consequences during a full moon. So, the rest of the time, you can continue your life as normal, and, as I said, come here when the moon is full."

Ace nodded, chewing on his bottom lip. "How do I tell my brothers, though?"

It was a rhetorical question, no doubt, but one Marco felt the need to answer anyway. "You don't."

"I don't?" Ace repeated. "How could I not tell them?"

"Trust me on this, Ace, you don't want to tell them," Marco said. "Ask anyone here; it's a bad idea." He rose from his seat and walked to the window, staring outside. "I've seen it all before. Mythological creatures that tell their friends, their family. It never ends well." He turned back to Ace. "Humans can't be trusted with a secret like this. It always comes out, whether it is through malicious intentions or sheer stupidity. They'll tell someone, or someone will overhear it when you talk about it. And before you know it, everyone knows." He snapped his fingers to empathise his words. "Like that. And then it's a mob chasing after you with pitchforks and torches in the best case scenario."

Ace swallowed hard. "And in the worst case?"

"Worst case, the government finds you and locks you up for experiments. So, I implore you, don't tell anyone. It's not just about you anymore. If you out yourself, there is a chance they'll trace you back to us. Then we'll all be in danger."

Ace swallowed again, looking pale.

Marco moved back to the couch, sitting down and placing a hand on Ace's knee. "I know it sounds scary, but that's why we're here," he said. "The man we call Pops started to look for us, mythological creatures, to keep us safe and, more importantly, to give us a place to call home. We need to stick together, Ace, because we're the only ones that will look out for you."

He wasn't all too surprised when Ace threw himself on Marco again. Patting him on his head, he reached for the book again, but suddenly, Ace sat up. He looked at Marco, and Marco stared confused back, because there was something in Ace's look he couldn't place. Therefore, he was unprepared when Ace shot forward, smashing their lips together.

Marco sat frozen, completely taken aback, when Ace moved back again. He looked thoroughly embarrassed.

"I'm sorry-" he started, when suddenly a choked sound sounded from somewhere in the room.

Jumping to his feet, Marco exclaimed, "Dammit Izo! A little privacy, if you wouldn't mind?!"

There was a slight gush of wind, fluttering up the curtains, and Marco knew Izo had left. He turned back to Ace, who now looked completely mortified.

"Look," he said, "I understand it's all pretty overwhelming. I suggest you go home and take some time to let things sink in." He checked his watch. "Shoot. Sorry, I have to go, I have a class to teach. Ask Thatch to drive you home."

Ace nodded, looking absolutely miserable.

Marco sighed and patted him on the head awkwardly. "It'll be okay." After that, he hastened himself out of the room. In his car, he sighed deeply and let his head fall onto the steering wheel.

"That went smoothly."

Marco jumped. "Fucking hell, Izo!"

"Such language," Izo said, reprimanding, appearing in the passenger's seat and putting on the seatbelt he didn't need. "Weren't you late?"

Knowing Izo wouldn't leave until he had said what he wanted to say, Marco sighed and started the engine.

They drove in silence for a while, but Marco kept glancing at Izo, expecting him to say something. Finally, he did.

"You know, you could have handled that better. The poor kid throws himself at you and you start yelling at _me_."

"You shouldn't have been there," Marco grouched. "Some things are private."

Izo tsk'ed. "Still, I stand by what I said."

"Fine," Marco sighed in defeat, "I could have handled that better, yes. But he's scared and confused. I don't want to take advantage of that."

"Aha! So you are interested in him!"

Marco shrugged. "He's cute, if he's not mauling people, that is. So sure, I like him. But he first needs to come to grips with who he is now, before anything can happen, alright? So no meddling!"

"Ugh, fine." Izo did not seem pleased, placing his elbow against the car door and stared outside. "You drive horribly, by the way, and that's coming from someone who's already dead. A car accident is how I died, you know."


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks Vergina-spva for beta'ing and MyLadyDay for approving.

* * *

"So, how are you doing?" Thatch asked as he pulled the door shut behind him and led Ace to his car. "Gotten used to it yet?"

"Should I have?" Ace muttered, sitting down in the passenger's seat.

"I guess not," Thatch replied with a shrug. "I mean, I can imagine this being a shock at first. Most of us here were born this way, so we didn't have to get used to much except, you know, being alive like everyone."

Ace didn't reply, just staring out of the window.

"You did the right thing by coming to Marco, you know?" Thatch continued. "I mean, I know he was sceptical at first, but that was just him hoping you were crazy. I mean," he hastily continued, "that he hoped you were wrong, so you wouldn't be in the situation you are in now. But now that you are, you've got us to rely on."

"He says I can't even tell my brothers," Ace said solemnly, not taking his eyes of the buildings flashing by.

"Marco's seen a lot, and that includes a lot of bad people," Thatch said. "He's just cautious."

"So he's wrong?"

"No, not wrong. Never wrong." Thatch let out a laugh. "Annoyingly right, all the time. You really should listen to him."

Ace bit his lip and didn't respond.

"Just take some time to get used to the new situation. You can call us anytime. You have Marco's number, right? He never sleeps anyway, so you can call him day and night. And don't forget to spoil yourself a little," Thatch said. "Go sit in a box or something."

Ace turned his head, squinting suspiciously at Thatch. "Is that a cat joke?"

"Yeah." Thatch let out a snort he had been trying to hold back. "Too soon?"

"Yes."

"Sorry. Oh, Marco meant to give you back your book. It should be somewhere around here." Thatch reached back, letting go of the steering wheel and not even paying attention to the road anymore.

"Watch where you're going!" Ace exclaimed and grabbed the steering wheel, when it turned on its own when they turned a corner. Even the blinker had turned on by itself.

"Hm?" Thatch asked from where he was still looking. "Oh, don't worry about it."

Ace nodded stiffly, slowly leaning back in his seat. One of these days he would die of a heart attack.

"Here it is!" Triumphantly, Thatch sat up with the book in his hand, giving it to Marco. "You left this in his office, I think? Or did you want him to sign it?"

Ace shook his head, pressing the book against his chest as he thought of Marco. Of his face after Ace had kissed him. It was stupid to do that. He'd thought... Well, it didn't matter what he thought. It seemed that Marco wasn't interested.

"You okay?" Thatch asked.

"Hm? Oh, yeah. A little tired."

"Trying to maul someone all night will do that to ya," Thatch said cheerfully. "Here we are."

Ace looked outside, seeing his home. It looked exactly like he left it, from the outside, anyway. The inside had to be a mess. How was he going to explain that to his brothers? Saying that they were robbed? And the chains! Oh God, what kind of kinky things would Sabo think he was into?! How could he face him?

"Don't worry too much about things, okay?" Thatch said, placing a hand on Ace's shoulder. "And definitely call if there is anything we can help you with. Anything. We'll come pick you up next full moon, okay?"

Ace nodded. "Yeah, thank you." He stepped out of the car and reached into his pocket, until he realised these weren't his clothes, so they shouldn't contain his keys. Yet they did. Ace turned to look at Thatch, who held up his thumb with a grin.

Shaking his head, Ace walked to the door, wondering if he would ever get used to these seemingly magical things happening. However, he had barely stuck the key in the lock, when the door swung open, revealing Sabo and Luffy.

"There you are!" Sabo exclaimed, and Ace braced himself for a comment about the mess. However, none came. "Did you go out last night?"

"Yeah, I did. I went out with friends," Ace said. It was at least somewhat true.

Sabo gave him a mock-sceptical look, and Ace stuck out his tongue.

"I have other friends beside you, you know."

Thatch, who had been waiting, honked the horn and stuck his arm out of the window, waving. Ace was just glad he had his other hand at the steering wheel and was facing the right direction. Still, he waved.

Sabo and Luffy let him pass, and Ace walked through the hallway, dreading what he would find in the living room. When he opened the door, he stopped and blinked. "Did you clean up?"

"We thought you did," Sabo said. "It looks cleaner than when we left, anyway."

Everything in the room was in its rightful place, there were no tears in the curtains, and no chains in sight. Ace heaved a deep sigh of relief. Marco and Thatch must have cleaned up after Thatch had knocked Ace unconscious. Or Thatch had used his weird powers to clean up. Ace didn't know anymore.

"So, what did you do last night?" Sabo asked, sitting down on the very much intact couch – Ace was sure that in Marco's pictures it had been torn to shreds. The question was innocent enough, but it still caused Ace to stiffen. "Did you go to a party?"

"Oh yeah," Ace let out a dry laugh, "I partied like an animal."

"That's great! See, I told you you should get out of the house."

Ace hummed and sat down next to Sabo on the couch. Luffy decided to join them as well, diving on top of them both. "How is Koala?"

"She's good, she sends you her regards," Sabo replied. "I still don't know why you insisted that I went to her, though. We could have hung out here and I could have met these friends of yours."

"Because you two need to spend time alone together, and she has come over here a lot because you refused to leave."

"I stayed here because I didn't want to leave you alone," Sabo said. "You seem a little depressed lately."

"I'm not depressed, just feeling a little blue, is all," Ace said. "And I didn't plan to go out, those guys just picked me up. I'm fine." Deciding to change the subject, he looked at Luffy who was sprawled in his lap. "How was your night?"

"It was great!"

As Luffy started to tell all about his adventures, with the necessary detours, Ace found himself drifting back to the previous night. Thatch had said that Ace had made the right call by coming to Marco, and he was pretty sure that he had. If Marco and the others took care of him while he was turned, at least he couldn't harm anyone. That was the most important part. But how was he going to explain leaving every full moon? Or wouldn't Sabo and Luffy notice a pattern? Well, Luffy not, most likely, but Sabo was into astronomy, so he might.

His secret was weighing heavily on his shoulders.

"Ace?" Sabo's voice started him from his thoughts.

"Hm? Yeah, just tired," he replied dismissively.

"I can imagine after partying all night long," Sabo said with a grin, but then his face turned serious again. "Are you sure that's all it is, though?"

Luffy sat up and moved until he was straddling Ace, looking at him with owlish eyes.

Damn him for knowing Ace so well. Still, even if Ace couldn't tell the whole truth, he could tell a part of it. "I met a guy," he admitted.

"And you like him."

"I don't think he likes me back," Ace replied.

"How do you know?"

"Well, I kissed him, and he looked like..." Like he had seen a ghost, would be an accurate description had Marco not seen many ghosts before. Or at least one often. Maybe it wasn't Ace personally. Maybe interspecies relationships were frowned upon, maybe that's why Marco had been so shocked. Then again, Thatch hardly looked like a ghost, though what he was, Ace had no clue. Maybe Marco was not into men. Or just not into Ace.

Instead of finishing his sentence, he just sighed.

Sabo elbowed him in the ribs. "Come on, this is so unlike you. Normally you already have a plan to wrap that person around your finger. You'll figure this one out too. And if he's really not interested, that's his loss. You're a catch."

Despite everything, Ace had to smile. "That means a lot, coming from a straight guy."

Sabo shrugged. "A straight guy with eyes. Anyway, you know what you should do? Go to sleep now, and when you wake up, we'll do an old fashion dine 'n' dash, and sneak into an R rated movie after."

Ace laughed. "We're not fourteen anymore, we're allowed to go such movies."

"Yeah, but we're not allowed to sneak in."

"Yay!" Luffy exclaimed before Ace could answer. "An adventure! You'll come too, Ace, right?"

Smiling, Ace nodded. "Yeah. Definitely."


	8. Chapter 8

Thanks Vergina-spva for beta'ing and MyLadyDay for approving

* * *

"This isn't a library, you know."

Ace almost dropped the book he was reading. He had made himself comfortable against a bookcase in the corner of the little old bookshop, but the wooden floor hadn't even creaked under Shanks' feet when he approached. Hence, Ace's heart attack.

Shanks looked amused, leaning against a bookcase.

"Sorry," Ace said. "The library didn't have what I was looking for and I'm a little short on cash."

"Oh? And what is it that you're looking for?" Shanks leaned down and picked up one of the books Ace had gathered around him. " _Werewolf hunting for dummies_?"

Ace shrugged.

"You're really into mythological creatures, aren't you?" Shanks asked as he scanned the other books. "Oh, that reminds me, did you talk to Marco?"

"I did," Ace said.

"So did you get his autograph?"

Ace looked confused for a moment, but then he realised that he had never told Shanks why he had wanted to meet Marco. For obvious reasons, since he would just have thought Ace was crazy. Like Marco had. "Sure," he said.

"That's great. The book is good. I mean, a little out there, of course, but nice."

"Yeah, definitely," Ace hastily said. "I mean, mythological creatures, right?"

"Yet you seem very invested in the subject."

"Yeah, I mean..." Frantically, Ace was trying to find a reason to explain his sudden obsession. "I like the folklore."

"You like werewolves the most, do you?"

"Well, there isn't as much on wereca - Yes, werewolves," he hastily interrupted himself. "Men changing into wolves. Fascinating."

"Meh, I'm not really a fan." Shanks crouched down next to him, rummaging through the books. "If you ask me, they're overrated."

"Oh? Then what do you like?" Ace asked, intrigued.

Shanks flinched, covering his mouth with the back is hand. "Man! That's a lot of garlic you've had!"

"Is it?" Ace breathed into his hand and sniffed. "Could be. I had Italian for lunch."

"I figured." Shanks rose again.

"You don't like garlic?"

"I certainly don't like it on someone else's breath, that's for sure," he replied. "Anyway, if you're short on cash, I could use a hand in the store. Or you know, two." He waved his single hand to emphasise his words.

"Really? I could definitely use the money." Ace rose after digging himself out of the books. "When can I start?"

"How about right now by cleaning up the mess you made." Shanks pointed at the books that were spread around on the floor.

Ace grinned sheepishly. "Yes, sir!"

Shanks grinned back. He had very white teeth, Ace noted, and quite pointy upper canine teeth. Fangs almost. Shanks turned around, his cape twirling around him as he walked back to his spot behind the counter.

Slowly, Ace crouched down to pick up the books he had grabbed. He had assumed that Shanks was just naturally pale and that the capes he always wore were a fashion statement, but that was before he had found out that mythological creatures were real. The cape, the paleness, the teeth, the hatred of garlic... Not to mention the fact that the book store was so dark.

What if his new boss was a vampire?!


	9. Chapter 9

Thanks to the usual people for being awesome :D

* * *

"Thanks for meeting me here," Ace said as Marco approached the table in the café.

Marco hummed and slid into the booth across from him, grabbing the menu and leafing through it absent-mindedly. "Well, I did promise we would help you out, and my number seems to be the only one you have, so here I am."

"That almost sounds like you want to be here," Ace muttered, slightly pouting, which he tried to mask by taking a sip of coffee.

Marco looked up from the menu, but Ace was avoiding his gaze. "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay," Ace mumbled.

Marco kept staring at him, and Ace did his best to look anywhere but at Marco. "You drag me out here during my lunch break to tell me you're doing fine? You could have just said that over the phone."

Ace pouted again and slid further under the table. "It's not easy, okay?! I hate lying to my brothers, and making them worry. And I don't even know why this is suddenly happening to me! Do you?"

Marco pursed his lips in thought. "I can't say that I do. I don't know any other werecats, to be honest, though I knew they existed before I met you. But there is very little literature about them."

"Yeah, I noticed that," Ace muttered.

The waitress stopped by their table to take their order. After she had left again, Marco asked, "You weren't, per chance, bitten by a werecat?"

Ace looked at him deadpanned. "I think I'd remember it if I was bitten by a monstrous cat. Or even a tiny one. So, no."

"Then I assume you've inherited it. Though it's quite late for it to reveal itself. Perhaps only one of your parents was one?" Marco thought out loud. "They never told you?"

Ace shrugged. "My dad is dead, and my mom isn't here."

Marco nodded, musing. "You can't contact her?"

"Not easily."

Marco nodded again. "Well, we'll have to make due with what we have. I'll collect the literature that I can find." He hesitated for a moment before saying, "I'm working on another book, under my pseudonym. If you don't mind, I'd like to study you so I can include werecats."

Ace shrugged, twirling his mug around. "Whatever."

The waitress brought their order over, and since Ace didn't speak again, Marco decided to dig into his sandwich. He only had an hour for lunch, after all.

Suddenly, Ace asked, "Marco?"

He wiped some mustard off his face and looked at Ace as he chewed his food.

Ace once again was avoiding his gaze. "I'm sorry I kissed you."

"That's okay. You're under a lot of pressure," Marco said, taking another bite. "Most of us are like this our whole lives, so we learn how to live with it. Things are new for you, though, but I'm sure- Ace, are you listening?"

Ace was staring intently at the table, nowhere in particular it seemed, until Marco moved his wrist. The speck of light, caused by the reflection of his watch, moved from the table to the wall, and Ace suddenly slapped on it with both hands, causing other patrons to look up from their food.

"Ace!" Marco whispered, accidentally moving his wrist again, thus moving its reflection. "Ace!" he hissed again, and finally, Ace looked up.

"What?"

"You're," Marco lowered his voice, "catting."

Ace stared at him, blinking. "No, I'm not."

"You were chasing a light spot."

"No, I wasn't."

Marco sighed. "I hate to tell you, but you did."

Ace let out a frustrated sound, hiding his face in his arms. "What am I supposed to do then?! What if I do that around people? What if I do it around Sabo and Luffy?"

"Relax, Ace," Marco said, trying to sound soothing. "They haven't said anything about it, have they? So either they don't think it's weird, or you haven't done it yet. And now that you're aware of it, you might not even do it again. Just... stay away from balls of yarn for a while."

Ace shot him an unamused look.

"I told you, we're going to help you control your powers. That includes this aspect."

Ace sighed and sat back, staring at the empty plate in front of him. He did have the appetite of a large cat. "I guess."

A silence fell as Marco ate the rest of his lunch. When he was finished, he dabbed his mouth with his napkin and checked his watch, careful not to make another light spot.

"Do you have to leave yet?" Ace asked.

"Not yet. The university is close by, so I still have a few more minutes."

Ace placed his chin on his arms, which were resting on the table. "So what do you want to do then?"

Marco shrugged.

"Wanna make out?"

It sounded like a joke, or rather self-mocking, but Marco decided to answer it seriously. Taking a sip of his coffee, he said, "Hm, not right now."

Ace rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I didn't think you would- Wait, what?" he interrupted himself as Marco's words got through to him, and Marco smirked around his cup. "Does that mean," Ace started carefully, "maybe later?"

Marco's grin widened. "Maybe."

Ace looked at him with wide eyes, as if he couldn't believe Marco just said that, so Marco shrugged.

"Why are you surprised? I think you're cute."

"But... But, when I kissed you, you looked like... Well, not like you enjoyed it," Ace protested.

"That's because I didn't," Marco deadpanned. "You caught me off guard, and then I had Izo to deal with. Besides, you have enough on your plate now. Metaphorically speaking," he added when Ace looked at his actual plate, seemingly disappointed that it was still empty. "I just mean to say that you should first get used to your current situation. Once you are and you're still interested, we can see where we stand."

Ace still didn't seem to comprehend his words, so Marco waited patiently as he processed them.

"Oh," Ace said eventually. "That's... nice."

Marco smirked as he took his last sip of coffee. "I am nice."

"Well, that's debatable," Ace retorted, seemingly recovered from the shock. "But this is nice of you. I'll keep you to it."

"Sure."

There was a silence for a moment, and Marco waved over the waitress for the cheque. Only after she left again to fetch it, Ace spoke again.

"So," he started, "you really like me? Even after you saw me almost eat Thatch's face off?"

"Perhaps _because_ of that," Marco said with a smirk.

"You're doing it again!"

"Doing what?"

Ace huffed. "Making a joke of which I'm not sure you're even joking."

Marco chuckled and patted Ace's hand. "Don't worry too much about Thatch. As you saw, he can take care of himself. You'll have to try harder if you want to leave him with lasting damage."

"What is he, anyway?" Ace asked, crossing his arms before his chest.

"You'll have to ask him that. It's up to him if he wants to tell or not."

"Fair enough." Ace looked at Marco suspiciously. "What are you, then?"

Marco just smiled mysteriously.

"Just tell me!"

Marco shrugged.

"Fine," Ace said, a slight pout on his face, when he suddenly seemed to think of something. "Alright. Then how about this? If I guess right what you are, you have to kiss me."

"Sure," Marco said, smirking again as he added, "Not that you'll ever guess it."


	10. Chapter 10

Thanks Vergina-spva for beta'ing and MyLadyDay for the encouragement.

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want to come?" Sabo asked for the umpteenth time.

"Yes, I told you, Koala can have my ticket," Ace replied.

"But are you _sure_?" Sabo pressed. "Last time, when the match was sold out, you were pretty disappointed."

"Well, you know," Ace gestured vaguely with his hand, "I have plans. And I'm sure Koala will enjoy the match as much as I would."

"Of course. Who doesn't love watching men in short shorts beat the crap out of each other," Koala said, lying on the couch as she leafed lazily through a magazine.

Both Sabo and Ace turned towards her. "I honestly cannot tell if you're being sarcastic right now," Ace said. The look she gave him did not help in the slightest.

Sabo turned back to Ace, sighing deeply as he crossed his arms before his chest. "I know you're going out with your so called 'friends'. When do we get to meet them?"

Ace shrugged, feeling uncomfortable. It was bad enough that he had to miss the wrestling match because it had to be held on the night of a full moon, he also had to lie to his brothers, while keeping Marco and the others as far away from them as possible as not to raise suspicion. "I dunno. Why do you care?"

"Why do I _care_?! Because I'm your brother, that's why! Or are you too embarrassed by us to introduce them?" Sabo asked challengingly.

"Duh." Ace rolled his eyes, trying hard – and failing – to suppress his smirk.

Sabo looked at him mock-indignantly. "And you call yourself my brother. Still," he said, becoming serious again, "I need to know what kind of people my brother hangs out with."

"Are you worried about me?" Ace teased.

"I'm protective."

"You're adorable."

"Excuse you?!" Sabo crossed his arms before his chest and looked away. "If anyone is adorable, it's you!"

"If anyone is adorable, it's Luffy."

The both of them looked at Luffy, who looked up at hearing his name, looking at them with owlish eyes as he licked the plate in his hands clean.

Finally, Sabo sighed. "Fine, at least we agree on one thing. But don't do anything stupid tonight, you hear me?"

"Look who's talking," Ace retorted with a snort.

"Hey, I'm the responsible one!"

"Really now?" Koala piped up, sitting up straight and placing the magazine next to her on the couch. "You sure 'responsible' is the word you're looking for? Remember how often I have to bail _your_ ass out of trouble?"

"I'm still the most responsible one of _us_ ," Sabo protested, gesturing to himself, Ace and Luffy.

Koala sighed deep, but it was clear that she – begrudgingly – had to agree with him.

The doorbell rang, and Ace was about to stand up as he was certain it was for him, but Luffy had already sprinted to the door to let Thatch in, dragging him into the living room.

"Look Sabo, it's Ace's friend!" he called happily.

"So I see." Sabo narrowed his eyes and observed Thatch intently. Thatch waited patiently until he was done.

"Heya," he said.

"Don't you 'heya' me," Sabo snapped. "What are your plans with Ace?"

Thatch shrugged, his hands in his pockets. "I dunno. Hang out?"

Sabo snorted. "Hang out? Aren't you a little too old to 'hang out' with someone Ace's age?"

"Ouch," Thatch said, but it was clear he wasn't insulted, if his grin was anything to go by.

Ace rolled his eyes. "Sabo, stop acting like I'm a minor going to prom. And Luffy, stop sniffing my friend!"

"But he smells so good!" Luffy whined. "He smells like meat!"

"I suppose that's possible. I was cooking before I came here," Thatch said.

"You cook?" Luffy ask.

"Well, I like to hang out in the kitchen." Thatch eyed Sabo with an amused look.

"Sabo," Luffy said, suddenly sounding serious and startling everyone. "He is okay." He held up his thumb to emphasise his words.

Koala sighed deeply and rose from the couch. "Nice to meet you, I'm Koala," she introduced herself. "Those idiots are Sabo and Luffy."

Luffy saluted.

"Thatch."

"Well, have fun tonight. We have to go now." She started to push Sabo in the direction of the door. Sabo gestured with two fingers towards his eyes and then towards Thatch, while Luffy waved enthusiastically.

When the door had pulled shut behind them, Ace sighed deeply. "Sorry about that."

"No worries. They seem nice."

Together, they walked outside towards Thatch's car. "So, are you ready?" Thatch asked as he had stepped behind the wheel.

"No. Should I be?" Ace said, pouting slightly.

Thatch laughed and slapped him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, kiddo. It'll be okay."

"Kiddo?"

Thatch shrugged. "It felt like a kiddo moment."

Ace snorted and put on his seatbelt.

"I don't think it's ever a time to use the word kiddo," Izo's voice suddenly sounded from the backseat.

Ace yelped, jumping in his seat, only to be held down by his seatbelt. "Why? Why would you do that?!"

"Do what?" Izo asked.

"Be invisible!"

"Excuse me?" Izo said indignantly, fully visible now that Thatch was driving. "Don't you think your brothers would have thought it strange if they saw a translucent man in the back of your friend's vehicle?"

"Yes. Yes, they would have," Ace had to admit.

"So I think you mean, 'Thank you, Izo.'"

"Thank you, Izo," Ace muttered.

"You're _welcome_."

"Still, a head's up from either of you would have been nice," Ace said.

Thatch laughed. "You better get used to it, ki- er, Ace. Izo pops up wherever and whenever he wants. And you're not always sure if he's even been there."


	11. Chapter 11

Thanks Vergina-spva and MyLadyDay for checking the story

* * *

Ace did his best to appear cheerful, but it was obvious to Marco that he was feeling miserable, not to mention nervous.

"Hi," Marco greeted him as he opened the door. "Come on in."

Ace muttered thanks as he passed him, and Marco exchanged a look with Thatch, who shrugged.

Marco was about to close the door, when someone cleared their throat, and with a sigh, Marco let Izo pass.

Inside, Thatch steered Ace towards the living room. "Alright, it's about to get dark, so I need to change into something more protective," he said cheerfully. "So that _someone_ doesn't try to eat my face."

"I said I was sorry!" Ace said, pouting slightly.

"I know, I know." Thatch grinned and slapped him on the shoulder. "I'm just teasing ya. But I wasn't kidding about the protective clothing. Come on, Izo." He left the room.

"Before I forget again." Ace searched in his bag and retrieved some papers. "Here is your paperwork."

"Thank you." Marco took it and leafed through the pages. "Did you have trouble filling it out?"

Ace shrugged. "Some things I couldn't answer because I don't know. But I filled it out best I could."

"That's great. This could be really helpful for my research, if you do not mind me using it."

Ace shrugged again. "If it helps. Which reminds me," he changed the subject. "Do all mythological creatures fill out a form like this?"

"All that we know of," Marco said. "All who want our protection."

"But you said that if the government discovers a mythical creature, they're gonna experiment on them," Ace continued. "So what if they find an entire archive filled with forms, including names and addresses?"

"There is no need to worry about that," Marco said, placing a hand on Ace's. "The forms are protected by magic. In the wrong hands, they're illegible."

Ace sighed, visibly relieved. "Alright."

Marco sat down next to Ace on the couch. "Are you nervous?"

"Of course I am," Ace muttered, not looking Marco in the face.

"You're in good hands, you know. And this time, we're actually well prepared." Marco grinned. "You'll be fine."

Ace nodded slowly as he finally looked up. "Thank you."

There was a silence between then, and Marco leaned in.

Just as their lips were about to meet, Ace blurted out, "Genie!"

Marco pulled back, looking at Ace confused. "What?"

"I-I had to guess what you were," Ace stammered. "S-so I did."

Marco let out a snort. "I'm not a genie." He rose from the couch. While Ace looked really cute flustered like that, the moment had passed. Besides, he was the one who had suggested to wait, so he should stick to that.

From the hallway, there was a strange sound, sounding similar to metal hitting stone, which in fact seemed to be case when Thatch appeared in the doorway in full medieval armour, carrying a bag over his shoulder. He opened his visor and laughed.

"Try to eat my face now."

Ace's jaw was dropped, and Marco quirked an eyebrow. "Don't you think this is a little over the top?"

"What? It was all I had left," Thatch protested. "I know it's a little old school, but if it's good enough to slay dragons, it's good enough for a werecat. Shouldn't you put on something a little more claw-proof?" he added, eying Marco.

"I decided to go a little more modern," Marco said. "This is Kevlar. You know, what cops wear aginst bullets."

Thatch snorted. "You kids and your newfangled nonsense."

Marco gave him a deadpanned look. "I'm older than you are. At least I keep up with the times."

"Please, all men look better in medieval European armour," Izo piped up.

"Thank you, Izo. You see?" Thatch said to Marco.

Marco opened his mouth to comment, but he was interrupted by Ace.

"Excuse me! Could we go back to _my_ problem? The moon will be up soon."

"Of course," Marco said. "Follow me." He left the room, closing Thatch's visor just for fun, especially when he heard protests behind him. He moved across the hall and into the room they had prepared for Ace. It was completely empty, except for the curtains covering the window.

"Well, isn't this nice and cosy," Ace said.

"You're sassy today," Izo, who followed them into the room, said. "I like it."

"We had to remove the furniture, considering the last time you transformed," Marco explained.

"Right, I never asked about that. On the photos you showed me, everything was a mess. But it was all clean when I got home," Ace said.

"Of course. If the house was a mess, your brothers would have asked questions, wouldn't they?"

"Yeah, but how?" Ace whined. "The pillows of the couch were torn, you can't just sew that up without leaving a trace!"

Marco pursed his lips. "Some magic."

"Aha!" Ace exclaimed, pointing at him. "I knew it!"

"I'm not a genie."

"Fairy?"

"No."

"Witch?"

"No."

Thatch started laughing. "He doesn't know what you are?"

Ace turned to him. "I don't know what you are either."

"Me? I'm a demigod."

Ace seemed taken aback by that. "Wait, does that mean... Gods exist too?"

"Yes and no. Gods exist as long as they're believed in," Thatch explained. "Being half human, though, that doesn't apply to me. Which is why I'm here."

Ace seemed to be full of question and opened his mouth to ask, when Izo suddenly said, "The moon is coming up."

"Right, we need to be quick. Ace, it would be best if you take off your clothes – to prevent them from tearing when you transform," Marco hastily added when he saw Izo's raised eyebrow.

"Can't your magic fix them?"

"It wasn't my magic, nor Thatch's," Marco said. "Haruta isn't here tonight."

"Fine, I'll take them off then, but you all turn around," Ace said, his arms crossed before his chest. "Especially you." He pointed at Marco. "You wanted to wait, so you're not getting a sneak-peek."

Afraid of the questions Izo would ask, Marco hastily left the room, only to enter it again backwards holding a blanket so that Ace could cover himself. He felt the blanket being taken and waited a few seconds before turning around.

Ace was huddled into the blanket, looking even more miserable than before. Moonlight shone through the gap in the curtain, and a shock went through his body.

"Wait!" he called. "I'm not ready!"

"It's not up to us," Marco replied. "Remember, we're gonna try to make you conscious while you're changed. So if you could try not to try to eat us, that would be great."

To Thatch he said, "Do you have everything?"

Thatch placed the bag he had been carrying on the floor. "Everything might be a stretch, but we're better prepared than last time, that's for sure. No dog treats in any case."

Grimly, they watched as Ace fell to the floor, squirming as his body changed. His eyes widened, the pupils becoming thin like a cat's, as hair sprouted everywhere.

"Get ready," Marco muttered to Thatch, who kneeled down to retrieve something from the bag, and pressed it in Marco's hand. It was made of hard plastic and tingled when it moved, but Marco didn't pay much attention to it, his focus only on the giant cat in front of him. The tip of its tail flicked back and forth as it seemed ready to attack.

"Oh my," Izo whispered. "You're lucky you still have your face."

"Well," Thatch said cheerfully, placing an arm around Marco's shoulder. "We're gonna die tonight."


	12. Chapter 12

Thanks MyLadyDay and Vergina-spva for beta'ing

* * *

Ace pounced, and Thatch and Marco jumped aside, each in a different direction. Marco scrambled to his feet immediately, but Thatch had some trouble getting up, resembling a turtle that had fallen onto its back. Ace turned, ready to attack again.

Marco jingled the toy ball in his hand, drawing Ace's attention for a moment, just long enough for Thatch to scramble to his feet.

"How did knights move in these things?" he muttered.

"You've worn it too," Marco flung back, once more dodging Ace's attack.

"Well, sure, but it's like five hundred years ago! I'm not as young as I used to be," Thatch protested. "Also, I'm pretty sure it has shrunk."

"Metal usually doesn't shrink, you know," Marco replied with a grin. "Someone has gotten fat."

Thatch opened his visor to look at Marco shocked and appalled. Just at that moment, Ace jumped again.

"No, not the face!" Izo, who was floating near the ceiling, exclaimed. "I like the face."

Just in time, Thatch closed his visor again as he was launched backwards and pinned against the wall by Ace's large front paws.

Marco jingled the cat toy again, but Ace was much more interested in what was hidden in the armour, like a regular cat who had discovered a can of tuna.

"You might want to do something, quick!" Izo urged Marco.

"You can do something too!"

"What can I do? I'm dead!"

"Exactly! So he can't maul _you_."

Izo sighed exaggeratedly and floated down. Next to Ace, he stopped. Ace seemed to sense his presence and turned his head, baring his teeth. Izo cleared his throat. "Boo," he said.

Unimpressed, Ace turned his attention back to Thatch.

"You might want to try harder!" Thatch called out.

"What am I supposed to do? I'm a dog person," Izo said, crossing his arms before his chest. "You were the one that came prepared."

Marco rummaged through the bag Thatch had brought, until he found what he was looking for. Aiming the laser pointer to the wall, he saw Ace still, focused only on the small dot on the wall. Marco moved the dot slightly, and the tip of Ace's tail started to move slowly as he made himself ready to pounce, while his gaze was completely transfixed on the wall. Marco moved the dot again, and this time, Ace jumped on it. Marco moved it again, now to the floor and Ace went after it.

Thatch sighed in relief. "Phew, I thought I was a goner there."

"Don't celebrate too soon," Marco said grimly, letting the dot dance across the floor, closely followed by Ace. "The night is still young."

"Well, he looks real dangerous now," Izo said. He was floating near the ceiling again in a relaxed pose, while doing his nails.

"You weren't just about to get eaten," Thatch said indignantly. "Besides," he added with smirk, "you were worried about me just now!"

Izo huffed. "I was no such thing!"

As they bickered, Marco slowly approached the large cat that was trying to capture the light point. "Ace?" he tried. "It's me, Marco."

Cat-Ace looked up, the dot suddenly forgotten. Marco moved it across the floor, but Ace had lost interest now that he had found his dinner.

"Oh crap," Marco muttered, diving out of the way when Ace jumped in his direction.

"Lovely boyfriend you have," Thatch said mockingly.

"He's not my boyfriend."

"But he likes you," Izo said musing from his position near the ceiling. "He implied as much. And you like him too."

"Yeah, so what's the deal with that?" Thatch piped up.

"Really, _now_ is the time you want to discuss my love life?" Marco called, jumping out of Ace's way again.

"You don't normally allow us to talk about it, so now seems to be the perfect time." Izo had turned to lie on his stomach, leaning on his elbow – insofar that was necessary while floating about.

"Fine, we like each other, but we decided to wait until Ace has dealt with _this_ problem." Marco gestured towards the murderous cat-shape.

"Was that so hard?" Izo asked, rolling onto his back.

Marco growled, when he suddenly felt his back hit the wall. "Crap! You distracted me!" It was a slight consolation that Thatch was in the same boat, pressed against the wall next to him. "Well, at least we'll get eaten together."

Thatch opened his visor, looking at him slightly regretful. "Sorry, brother, not today. I'm sorry!" He then shoved something into Marco's back pocket.

Suddenly, things moved fast. Ace froze mid-movement, his pupils dilating as he sniffed the air. Thatch used the momentary distraction to move out of the way while Marco reached into his pocket to see what the hell Thatch put in there. Before he could, however, Ace jumped him, and Marco slid across the wall down to the floor. He braced himself to have sharp claws or teeth to tear his face apart, but nothing came.

Carefully, he opened his eyes. Ace was standing on top of him, still sniffing and with wide pupils. But the oddest thing was that he was... purring. At least, Marco assumed it was purring. From Ace's throat came a deep, rumbling sound, but it didn't sound threatening. Claws moved in and out, digging into Marco's flesh, and he winced. With much effort, he reached into his back pocket and retrieved a torn plastic bag, from which small green things spilled. Ace's purring increased and he pressed his head against the bag in Marco's hand.

"Catnip? You traitor!" Marco called to Thatch, unable to move under Ace's weight.

"Well, I'm sorry, but he tried to eat me several times," Thatch said, holding his hands up in defence. "And he likes it. Now I really have to get out of this armour. It pinches where you do _not_ want to be pinched." With that, he left the room.

"You're just gonna leave me here?" Marco called to Izo, who made to follow Thatch.

"But... He's gonna change!" Izo sputtered.

"You can see him naked anytime! Meanwhile, I have a murderous cat on top of me!" Marco winced when Ace lied down on top of him, still nuzzling the bag.

Izo seemed torn, looking from the door to Marco and back. "You'll be fine," he finally said, floating to the door. "Catnip works like fifteen minutes until the spell is broken. We'll be back before that."

Groaning, Marco resigned with his fate, remembering how nice it had been to breathe.


	13. Chapter 13

Thanks Vergina-spva for beta'ing and MyLadyDay for approving

* * *

"Please, take your time," Marco said when Thatch finally walked back in the room. "I'm super comfortable."

Thatch looked his way, opening the visor of the helmet he was still wearing for some reason. "You look comfortable."

Frustrated, Marco gestured to his situation, namely being covered by an enormous cat with a weight to match it, and he wondered if it had been physically possible to have poured more sarcasm into his voice. "Are you kidding me?!"

"I was talking to Ace," Thatch said, walking leisurely to the bag he had left behind.

Marco would have loved it to smack himself against the forehead, had his arms not been pinned down by a purring Ace. As he knew he wouldn't be able to hurry Thatch even if he tried, he changed the subject. "You know, the helmet doesn't go with that outfit."

"The helmet wasn't the thing pinching. And I'm very attached to my face." Thatch looked over his shoulder to grin at Marco, looking truly happy with the pun he just made.

Marco just groaned and let his head fall back. "Will you just help me?"

"I'm trying! All the talk about eating faces has given me an idea."

"What, more catnip?" Marco grouched.

"I get it, you're still mad. And that after I've brought you two together." Thatch smirked.

"You know I'm going to kill you once I get out of here, right?" Marco growled.

"Then there's no need for me to hurry, is there?"

At that moment, Ace's head rose and he blinked as if he woke up from a dream, his pupils shrinking to its original size.

"Ehm, Thatch? You might want to hurry after all."

"Yeah? Why's that?" Thatch asked, his back turned to Marco as he kept searching through the bag.

"Because your face is back on the menu."

"What?!" Thatch all but shrieked. "Already?"

"You're the one who took so long changing."

"I was taking off full body armour! And Izo wasn't helping much," he muttered in afterthought. "Just keep him busy till I find what I'm looking for."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Not get eaten."

"Thank you, almighty oracle," Marco sneered, gasping for air as Ace finally moved off him.

"Just do _something_! Keep him busy!"

Marco searched his brain. With the catnip, Ace had proven he was just an ordinary cat, albeit larger. So what did cats like? They liked to be scratched behind the ear, right? Unless they weren't feeling like it. In that case, Marco would most likely lose his hand – one he was rather attached to, as Thatch would put it.

Still, he wasn't sure what else to do, as the toy ball had rolled away somewhere when Ace had tackled him. Swallowing, he reached out to touch Ace's head, his body tense as he watched the tail flick back and forth.

Suddenly, the door flung open, and Ace whipped around.

"Did I miss it yet?" Haruta called, running inside. "Awesome! He really is a cat! A really big one!"

"Yeah, we know that. He has tried to eat us both several times," Thatch said. "Aha," he suddenly exclaimed, holding up an item triumphantly. "I figured, if he wants to eat so much, let's get him something to eat."

"Tuna?" Marco deadpanned. "Your master plan is a can of tuna?"

"I wouldn't say master plan," Thatch protested. "Besides, the best thing _you_ could come up with was to feed him you hand, and I think my plan beats that."

Marco sighed. "Just give him the tuna."

Thatch looked triumphant for a moment, before he paled.

Again, Marco sighed. "You forgot the can opener, didn't you?"

"Hey now, I thought of _everything_ else."

"You know they also sell cans with those convenient pull thingies, right?" Haruta piped up.

Both Marco and Thatch looked at him. "You're not helping," the latter said.

"Will you just get us a can opener before we all get eaten?" Marco asked.

"Fine."

A second later, Marco had a can opener in his hand and he desperately started to open the can as Ace slowly circled them.

"You know, you could have just asked me to open the can for you," Haruta remarked as he casually leaned against the wall.

Thatch and Marco looked at him and then at each other. "We'll kill him later," Marco said.

Finally, the can opened, and Marco threw it in Ace's direction. Ace sniffed a few times, distracted by the smell of fish, and then turned.

"Okay, move, move!" Marco said as he ushered Thatch and Haruta out of the room.

"Aww, but I haven't even seen him eat anyone!" Haruta protested. Marco ignored him and locked the door behind them, sighing deeply.

"Well, that was a waste of time," Thatch said, sounding disappointed.

"Why didn't you just lock him up in the first place, if you dislike getting eaten so much?" Haruta asked.

"I thought I would be able to get through to him," Marco said, musing.

"Why you, particularly?"

"Because Marco likes Ace," Thatch said in a singsong voice.

"Haha, Marco likes a cat!" Hatura laughed.

"I prefer his human form, thank you very much." Marco sighed. "But we have to think of something. Unless you want to catsit every full moon for the rest of his life." He looked at Thatch.

"I would, but Izo prefers dogs. And me with my face." Thatch grinned sheepishly.

"I figured." Marco looked at the closed door. "Poor Ace. We promised we'd help him, but what if we can't?"

"Then you definitely won't get in his pants," Thatch helpfully supplied.

Marco narrowed his eyes at him, and Thatch raised his hands defensively.

"I may know a guy," Haruta suddenly said hesitantly.

Marco looked at him. "You know a guy?"

"Well, I know a guy who knows a guy," Haruta said. "But he may be able to help us get through to Ace."


	14. Chapter 14

Thanks MyLadyDay and Vergina-spva for approving

* * *

As Ace opened his eyes, it didn't take him long to realise where he was and that he was, once again, without pants. The couch at Marco's home was comfortable enough, but it wasn't where Ace had hoped to be.

Sitting up, the blanket covering him sliding onto his lap, Ace was faced with a serious looking Marco. He didn't have to say anything for Ace to know things hadn't worked out the way they had hoped.

"You couldn't get through to me, huh?" he asked. "How's Thatch, is he okay?"

"Yeah, don't worry about him. But as you say, we didn't manage to get you conscious about your surroundings. I'm sorry."

Ace bit his lip hard, trying not to express his anger and frustration. Marco seemed to sense his mood and moved so that he was sitting on the edge of the couch.

"We have no intention of giving up, and neither should you," he said. "This was our first try. Well, our first try knowing which species you are. And Haruta knows a guy," he added as if that made up for everything.

Ace stared at him. "So? I know a guy too, everyone does."

"Actually," Haruta's voice suddenly sounded from the doorway, "the guy turns out to be a girl. Well, I think she always was. Anyway," he turned back to the subject, "I'm sure she can help you."

"So what is she, the cat whisperer?" Ace asked sarcastically.

"Something like that," Haruta said with a grin and then walked away without further explanation.

With a sigh, Ace let himself fall back on the couch.

"Do you want to make out?" Marco suggested.

Ace looked up, slightly surprised. "What?" He couldn't help the grin from creeping up his face, though.

Marco shrugged. "It might take your mind off things."

"But I haven't even guessed what you are yet!"

Marco shrugged again. "It's a silly bet. No one says we have to follow through."

"I know that, but-" Suddenly, Ace froze. "Wait, what time is it?"

Marco checked his watch. "Nearly nine, why?"

Ace cursed under his breath. "I have to get to work!"

"Work?" Marco asked.

"Yeah, didn't I tell you? I got a job in Shanks' bookstore. You know Shanks, right? He's the guy who referred me to you in the first place. Sure, he thought it was for an autograph, but..." He trailed off. "You know him, right?"

"Sure," Marco said, but his rigid posture and arms crossed before his chest betrayed there was more to that story. He didn't seem inclined to share, however.

"Do you know if he's," Ace hesitated for a second, "a vampire?"

Marco raised his eyebrows. "Did he tell you that?"

"Well, no, but there's the cape, the hatred of garlic," Ace counted on his fingers, "the fangs..."

"You'll have to ask him what he is or isn't," Marco said.

"Does that mean he _is_ a mythological creature?"

Marco shrugged.

Ace sighed, resigning to his fate. "Fine, I'll ask him myself. Could you please take me there? I'll be even later if I take the bus."

"Sure, no problem." Marco moved off the couch, walking towards the door and turning around when Ace didn't follow.

Playing with the blanket in his lap, Ace looked at him somewhat insecure. "Could you maybe hand me my pants?"

Marco snorted as left the room, coming back a few seconds later with a familiar piece of clothing in his hand. At least he turned around while Ace was struggling to put it on underneath the blanket.

Once Ace was decent, Marco led him to his car that was waiting outside. The weather was terrible today, rain pouring from the sky, and Ace was drenched before they reached the vehicle. Lightning struck the sky and Ace was quick to dive in the car.

Fortunately, the drive wasn't that long, as Ace was already half an hour late. Marco parked in front of the door, but Ace hesitated to get out.

"Are you sure Shanks's no vampire?" he asked Marco.

"Why, would you like some holy water to protect yourself?" Marco asked teasing.

Ace rolled his eyes, taking his point. "Alright, thanks for the ride." Without thinking, he turned toward Marco and gave him a peck on his lips.

Realising what happened, he froze for a second, but then decided to pretend nothing happened, even if Marco's grin was insufferable.

"'k bye," Ace hastily said, opening the car door and stepping out. Before his foot hit the ground, though, he noticed a silhouette standing behind Shanks' store window. It was too dark to make out any features, though Ace assumed it was Shanks. However, then lightning struck and when the light had disappeared, so had the silhouette.

His heart beating, Ace sat back in the car, pulling the door shut. "D-did you see that?" he asked Marco.

"See what?"

"The silhouette, the lightning..." Ace let out a groan. "Never mind."

"Would you like that holy water after all?" Marco asked, still sounding teasing, but he still reached forward and opened the glove compartment.

"You keep holy water in your car?" Ace asked sceptical.

Marco retrieved a small vial with a transparent liquid, holding it up in front of Ace. "Why, you don't keep holy water in your car?"

"I don't have a car."

"Fair enough. Now, do you want it or not?"

"Is it really holy water?" Ace asked, still a bit sceptical.

"Why don't you throw it on Shanks and if he's really a creature of darkness, you'll know," Marco said, but he failed to keep a straight face. "Or you can take my word for it that that water has been blessed by a priest."

Ace gave him a deadpanned look, but still let the vial slip in his pocket. "Alright, wish me luck then."

"You don't need luck. Just keep you neck covered and have a priest on speed dial."

Ace looked at him unamused, before opening the car door again. As he stepped out of the vehicle, Marco called after him, "What, no kiss this time?"


	15. Chapter 15

Thanks Vergina-spva and MyLadyDay

* * *

"Sorry I'm late," Ace said as he quickly closed the door behind him. In the short period it had been open, the mat had already become drenched by the rain.

"There you are. I was starting to get worried," Shanks replied from behind the counter. "I tried calling you."

Ace took his phone from his pocket and checked it, seeing he had several missed calls. "Sorry, I overslept."

"Well, it's fine, I guess, but remember you're still in your probation period." There was a teasing twinkle in Shanks' eye, but still Ace resolved in staying late today.

"You're just in time, though," Shanks continued. "We just had a shipment coming in and you're perfect for carrying heavy boxes. I should count the books, though."

"I can count them for you," Ace offered.

Shanks seemed to consider his proposal, but then said, "I should count them. Would you bring them to the counter, please?"

In the back, Ace lifted one of the newly arrived boxes and started carrying it towards the store when the bell above the store door rang, announcing a customer.

"Hello, love," Ace heard Shanks say.

"Don't 'hello, love' me," a deep male voice replied. Ace peeked around one of the book cases and saw a man in his mid-forties. His hair was almost entirely grey and he was handsome in a rugged way. For some reason, Ace felt like he would feel more at home at sea.

"You stood me up last night," the man continued.

"I did no such thing," Shanks protested.

"Then why weren't you at the restaurant like we agreed?"

"I... Well... Is that why you bathed in garlic?" Shanks interrupted himself. "To spite me?"

"Of course not," his partner replied, "but I did eat a lot of it to spite you. I asked for extra garlic with my food and had a side of garlic bread with garlic butter. If they had had a garlic dessert, I would have taken that too."

Shanks looked at him, shocked and appalled.

"Don't stand me up then," the man said.

"I was busy," Shanks protested.

"Oh really? And how many vi-" The man stopped mid sentence when he seemed to notice Ace.

"Oh Benn, this is my new employee Ace. Ace, this is my boyfriend Benn," Shanks introduced them.

"For now," Benn said with a snort. "Nice to meet you, Ace."

Ace hoisted the box he was carrying on his hip to take Benn's outstretched hand.

"Now you've met, Ace, could you please tell Benn that he is oozing garlic stink?" Shanks asked.

Hesitantly, Ace looked from one to the other. "To be honest, I do not feel comfortable sniffing my new boss' boyfriend."

"Rest assured, that is a completely normal thing not to be comfortable with," Benn said. "Don't mind Shanks, he has boundary issues."

"I do not!" Shanks protested.

"Oh really? Then what were those complains of you breathing down people's necks?"

Shanks just huffed.

"Well, you better make it up to me tonight," Benn said, crossing his arms before his chest.

"I said I was sorry!"

"No, you didn't."

They both looked at Ace to settle their argument. "Er," Ace said, "did you hear that? I think some books fell down. Bye!" Dropping the box he had been carrying, he fled to the back of the store.

Of course, no books had fallen over, but Ace busied himself with tidying up the book cases while Shanks and Benn bickered. He couldn't hear what they were saying, only the low hum of their voices.

He couldn't help but wonder what Benn had been about to say when he had noticed Ace. How many victims had Shanks made? How many villas had he robbed? How many vitamins had he taken? None of the things he could think of starting with 'vi' incriminated Shanks as a vampire, though. At best – or rather, at worst – he was your run of the mill murderer, but Ace was fairly certain he would have heard if someone was on a killing spree in his town.

Even if Shanks was a vampire, though, there was no evidence that Benn was as well, or even knew if Shanks was. Benn had seemed normal enough, no cape or fangs that Ace could see.

Sometimes, Ace wondered if he was being silly. He hadn't worked here a month yet, but he knew Shanks much longer than that, as Shanks had taken an interest in Luffy a long time ago. Until Ace discovered that mythological creatures were real, he had never compared Shanks to a vampire. He was eccentric, sure, but he had never shown an unusual interest in Ace's neck, or those of his brothers for that matter. Then again, it could always be that he had been turned into a vampire later, right?

Ace would have to continue his investigation.

After a while, the door opened as the bell tinkled, and Shanks called to the back, "Benn's leaving!"

"Bye!" Ace called back. Making himself useful, he picked up another box of books, which he brought to the counter. Shanks had already started counting the books in the other box Ace had left behind.

"Sorry about that," Shanks said, looking up.

"It's okay. I just didn't want to go against my new boss." Ace put down the box and pulled off the tape.

"Are you saying I was wrong?" Shanks asked, sounding accusingly.

"Er..."

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Besides, Benn was overreacting. It wasn't like it was the first time I forgot we had plans."

Ace wisely kept his mouth shut.

They worked in silence for a while, Shanks counting the books in the boxes that Ace picked up, and Ace placed the books in their rightful spots in the bookcases. Outside, the raindrops kept tapping against the store window, which was pretty much the only sound, until Ace's stomach growled.

"I know this isn't a library, but could you keep it down?" Shanks said jokingly.

"Sorry, I forgot to eat breakfast."

"So that's why you don't smell like garlic," Shanks said amused.

"I don't eat garlic for breakfast," Ace protested. "Not always anyway. You really don't like the stuff, do you."

"I do not. And Benn knows it, using it against me. How dare he," Shanks said. "Joke's on him, though, because he won't get any tonight."

"Any... garlic?" Ace asked.

For some reason, Shanks felt the need to pat him on the head. "Sure."


	16. Chapter 16

Thanks MyLadyDay & Vergina-spva

* * *

It was near lunchtime when the bell above the door chimed again, causing Ace to look up. There had been no customers since Benn left, despite the weather clearing up. It was still dark in the store, though, so perhaps people thought they were closed.

Ace heard someone yelling his name and barely a second later, a monkey-like creature jumped on his back. Being used to this treatment, Ace managed to brace himself just in time.

"Hello, boys," Shanks greeted Luffy and Sabo, leaning with his one arm on the counter.

"Hey Shanks," Sabo said, as Luffy yelled, "Hi Shanks!"

"What are you doing here?" Ace asked as he continued sorting the books, despite Luffy still hanging from his back.

"Taking you to lunch," Sabo declared, leaning against the counter next to him. "Since you didn't come home last night-"

"Oooh," Shanks suddenly said meaningfully. "I see. So _that_ 's why you were late this morning."

"No, you don't see! There is nothing to see," Ace hastily said, before Shanks got the wrong impression. It seemed like he was too late for that, though. "I just hung out with friends."

"Sure. If that's what the kids are calling it these days."

"No, it's not!"

"Someone dropped you off and it weren't these two," Shanks said in a singsong voice.

"Who dropped you off?" Sabo asked, immediately in protective brother modus.

"No one! A friend." Ace remembered kissing Marco, even if it was only a peck, and immediately turned back to his work to hide his embarrassment. He could feel Sabo staring at him and worked even faster.

"What did you do last night that you didn't come home?" Sabo asked sharply.

"Like I said, I hung out with friends. Geez, I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition!"

"No one ever does," Shanks suddenly said absent-mindedly, staring into the distance. "Ever." When he saw the three brothers looking at them, he said, "What? I have books about them. It's not like I ever met them." He laughed awkwardly.

Slightly confused, Ace turned back to the stack of books in front of him, but unfortunately for him, the momentary distraction by Shanks wasn't enough for Sabo to give up trying to penetrate Ace's soul with his eyes, so Ace hastened himself to bring the books to the right shelf.

"Is it okay if we take him to lunch. After him being late and all," he heard Sabo ask Shanks. The last part was aimed at Ace and sounded accusing.

Shanks shrugged. "A guy's gotta eat, and since he said he didn't had breakfast, and I know you're eating habits... Get him a good meal. But try to be back in an hour, okay?"

"You're so lucky to be working for Shanks," Sabo said as they left the bookstore. "He's a super laid-back boss. So don't take advantage of that by being late!" He slapped Ace against the back of the head.

"Ow! Sorry. Geez." Ace rubbed the sore spot. "I'm not taking advantage of him! I was just late. Once."

"'Hanging out' with that old friend of yours?" Sabo asked, snorting.

"He's not..." Ace stopped mid-sentence. Being a demi-god, Thatch probably wasn't the youngest. Though, Shanks just seemed to have implied that he met the Spanish Inquisition, hadn't he? Or had he?

"Yes," he continued. "I did."

"You didn't pick up your phone."

Ace stopped in his tracks at the accusing tone.

"We called when you weren't home when we got back from the match, but you didn't answer. We were worried, you know?" Sabo continued.

"Sorry. The music was loud, so I didn't hear my phone," Ace lied. He felt his stomach churn. He hated lying to his brothers so much.

"You've been acting weird for a while now, Ace. Different to us."

Ace didn't reply.

"Is it because you miss your mom?"

Whipping his head up, Ace finally looked at Sabo.

Sabo shrugged. "I know you tried to contact her recently."

Ace looked away again and shoved his hands in his pockets, not to show them balled into fists. "Of course I miss mom. I haven't spoken to her in months. Not since before..." Not since before he started to suspect he might be a werewolf. "She'll call when she can," he continued.

Sabo looked at him and even Luffy was susprisingly serious. Eventually, Sabo elbowed him in the ribs. "Just let us know if you're gonna be out all night, okay? Then we won't get worried."

Ace nodded, relieved that they didn't press him.

They ordered sandwiches and sat outside in the sun as they ate – or rather devoured – them. There was never much talking during eating – after all, if you talked, you wasted precious seconds and chances were that the food was gone.

When they had all finished, Ace leaned back in his chair. "So why did you take me out to lunch, aside from checking up on me?"

"Can't we take our favourite brother out for lunch?" Sabo asked mock-indignantly. When Ace gave him a deadpanned look, he shrugged. "You're the one with the job."

"I didn't get my salary yet."

They looked at each other. "Well then," Sabo said, playing with his napkin. "Then we'd better make a run for it."

As one, they jumped up and ran towards the exit of the terrace. A waiter tried to stop them, but they all but ran through him as they dashed away.

A few blocks away, they stopped, panting. "I guess we won't be eating there again," Ace said, catching his breath.

Sabo nodded, pulling a list from his pocket and adding the name. "I wonder if we still have restaurants left in this town where there are no wanted posters of us."

"I'm thirsty," Luffy complained.

"Oh, here, Ace has water." Sabo pulled the vial from Ace's pant pocket, looking at it with a raised eyebrow. "It is water, right?"

"Yes, but-" Before he could finish his sentence, Luffy had already drunk it, heaving a satisfied sigh. Ace closed his mouth again. It would be hard to explain why he was carrying a vial of holy water anyway. Though, now that he had to go back to work, he kind of regretted not eating anything with garlic.


	17. Chapter 17

Thanks Myladyday & Vergina-spva for beta'ing

* * *

Ace worked almost every day, restacking the bookcases and sometimes manning the counter at times when Shanks felt the need to disappear mysteriously for a few hours. He never left through the front door, but instead went to the backroom, where Ace suspected had to be at least one secret passage.

When Shanks was present, however, he hadn't tried to sink his teeth into Ace's neck, which was nice. After Luffy drank his holy water, Ace hadn't tried to get a new bottle, though he had started wearing a cross. Even if Shanks was harmless, that didn't mean that there wasn't a vampire out there longing for his blood, though that hadn't happened in the first twenty years of his life.

He had even sewn crosses in Luffy's and Sabo's coats, just in case. They hadn't noticed them yet, which Ace was grateful for. It would be hard to explain without them thinking he suddenly wanted to convert them.

Ace also tried to force himself not to think about the upcoming full moon, which was working out fairly well. When he wasn't working, he hung out with his brothers, also to make up to them for being so down lately. They went out or stayed at home playing video games, and it almost seemed like things were back to normal.

In the past two weeks, Ace hadn't really thought about Marco either, perhaps because he reminded him of being a mythological creature too much.

But when he saw Marco jogging across the street on his way home from work, it hit him again how much he had missed him.

"Marco!" he called, but it seemed that Marco was listening to music, judging by the earbuds.

Biting his lip, Ace pulled out his phone and clicked on Marco's name. It only took a few seconds for Marco to answer.

"Hey Ace," he said, breathing heavily. "Everything okay?"

"Behind you," Ace said.

"What?"

"Turn around."

He saw Marco stop and look around until he spotted Ace. A smile appeared on his face and he pulled out the earbuds, watching left and right before he crossed the street.

"Hi," he said again when he was standing in front of Ace.

Looking at him up close again, Ace's heart skipped a beat. Marco looked good, even while sweaty and in not the most elegant of clothes.

"I was wondering if I should contact you since I didn't hear from you," Marco said.

"Yeah, I needed a break," Ace replied scratching his head, before hastily adding, when he heard how that sounded, "Not from you, I mean. Just from the whole mythological thing. And, well... I mean, I like you, but all we ever talk about is that, and I don't even know what you are, so it's really mostly about my situation and well..." He looked at his feet. "I hardly know anything about you."

Marco nodded slowly, seemingly considering Ace's words as he pursed his lips. "So, you would like to learn more about me?"

"Well, yeah."

"Like on a date?"

Ace's head whipped up. "What?"

Marco shrugged. "We could go on a date."

"When?"

He shrugged again. "I'm free right now. If you don't mind the outfit."

Ace couldn't fight the grin creeping up his face if he had tried. "I actually don't."

"Then you must really like me," Marco said, mirroring his facial expression.

"I guess I do."

They entered the nearest coffee shop and, after ordering, found a table in the corner. Marco placed his elbows on the table, leaning in. "Well then. What do you want to know about me? That isn't mythological creature related."

Even though Ace was the one who suggested they got to know each other better, the question still caught him off guard. "Ehm," he said, searching his brain for things he knew about Marco that had nothing to do with myths. "How's teaching?"

While their conversation didn't flow well at first, eventually it seemed to become more natural, and after their second cup of coffee, Ace felt quite pleased with himself. They left the coffee shop, and Marco's hand snuck into Ace's.

"Where do you want to go now?" Marco asked.

"Do you want to get some ice cream?" Ace suggested, and he couldn't help but get excited. "I know this place where they pile it on top of each other in a gravity defying way!" He then realised something. "Or is that magic? I just thought they were really good..."

Marco chuckled. "I wouldn't know."

"Is that a thing, though?" Ace wondered out loud. "That mythological creatures recognise each other? Like gaydar, but for other creatures?"

Marco laughed. "Some might."

"You sure don't," Ace said, slightly pouting. "Or you would have known I wasn't crazy right away."

"Maybe not, but I do have an excellent gaydar," Marco replied, wrapping an arm around Ace's shoulders.

While the weather had been fine when they left the coffee shop, it suddenly became dark, and fat drops of water started falling from the sky.

Ace shivered – not from cold, but he had never liked rain. Perhaps he was more cat than he had hoped. He regretted not putting on a jacket.

"We can take shelter here," Marco said, jerking his thumb to the building behind him.

Ace cocked his head. "In a church?"

Marco shrugged. "Why not? It's dry and you won't find any demons there," he added teasingly.

Ace considered his words and then nodded. Holding hands, they hurried through the gate and took shelter underneath the canopy. As they stood there, watching the rain, a man clad in black hurried towards the door, holding an umbrella. They moved aside as he folded in the umbrella and moved to the door.

"Pastor," Marco said with a nod.

The man nodded back, a bible almost slipping from underneath his arm.

Ace waited until the pastor was inside before he said, "That reminds me, I need new holy water."

"You used it on Shanks?" Marco asked, his eyebrows raised.

"Nah. Luffy drank it."

"He drank it?" Marco made a face. "I'm not sure how long it was in that vial, but it can't have been hygienic."

"Oh please, with the things he has licked in his life, Luffy must have the strongest immune system in existence," Ace said. "And Shanks hasn't tried anything, so."

"That's good," Marco said. "After all, it would be a shame if he got to bite you before I had the chance."

Ace looked at him suspiciously. "Was that an innuendo or are you coming out to me as a vampire?"

Marco laughed. "Nah, I like garlic too much for that."

Ace stared at him for a while, and then sighed. "I'll never guess what you are."

"Right, the bet. Now we're on the subject, I would like to suggest we alter it a little," Marco said.

"Alter it? How?"

"Well, the bet is now that I have to kiss you when you guess right, right?" When Ace nodded, he continued, "Well, then I would like to suggest that every time you're wrong, you have to kiss me."

Ace stared at him, blinking slowly. Finally, he said, "You're a vampire."

"What? No, Ace, I just said- Oh."

Ace grinned as he pulled Marco forward by his shirt until their lips met. Marco's arms wrapped around Ace, pulling him close as he fell back against the wall behind him.

Suddenly, Ace pulled back. "Maybe we shouldn't do this at a church," he said sheepishly.

Marco grinned. "Maybe." He looked at the sky. "Looks like the weather is clearing up. Shall we go get your gravity defying ice cream?"


	18. Chapter 18

Thanks MyLadyDay & Vergina-spva for beta'ing

* * *

Ace tried not to look too happy when he was around his brothers, but it was hard to hide his smile. Things were going great with Marco, but it had not even been two weeks since they started dating, so Ace thought it was too soon to throw him to the lions. Besides, it was nice keeping Marco to himself for a while.

He had thought that Marco would remind him too much about being a werecat, but since he had asked Marco not to talk about it, it hadn't come up. In fact, Ace had pretty much forgotten about it altogether, because Marco was so disgustingly normal. Ace hadn't found anything abnormal about him, and he had felt up pretty much every part of him by now.

When he wasn't with Marco or his brothers, he worked in the bookstore. Lately, Shanks had had needed his help more, and had left Ace in charge a few times when he was away on business. When Shanks was away, Ace had turned on the lights inside more, which did wonders for the amount of customers they drew in. In turn, with Ace making a good turnover, Shanks trusted him more and left him alone more often.

Today, though, Shanks was there, the lights were dimmed, and there were no customers.

"Did you know it's a full moon tonight?" Shanks asked.

Ace started, both from the sudden sound of his voice in the otherwise quiet store, as well as what he said. He had completely lost track of time. "What?!" he exclaimed, quickly recovering as he cleared his throat. "I mean, oh. Why would I care?"

Shanks shrugged, leaning with his elbow on the counter. "Just making conversation. I'm bored. Besides, Sabo's into astronomy, right? So, I figured you might know about it."

"Oh," Ace repeated. Now that he was reminded of the state of the moon, he could only think about what he had to do for preparations. Marco probably wouldn't mind if he came over again, and if he remembered correctly, Haruta knew someone who might be able to help him control his... catness. If that was the case, he might not dread the next full moon as much.

"Well, if you don't want to talk about the moon, what do you want to talk about?" Shanks asked.

"Do we have to talk about anything?" Ace muttered as he continued to stack books on the shelves.

"Yes, 'cause I'm _bored_ ," Shanks whined. "There hasn't been a customer all day."

"Maybe if you turned on the lights, people would actually think the place is open," Ace retorted.

"Where's the fun in that?" Shanks said with a smirk. "Oh, I know what we can talk about. The person you're seeing."

"What?!" Ace exclaimed, his voice breaking again. "How... How would you know...?"

"Your face," Shanks replied, still grinning. "Come on, spill! Guy? Gal? Neither? Both?"

Ace rose, dusting himself off. "You're my boss, remember? Some things are none of your business."

"With your mom out of town, someone should watch you." Shanks pouted.

"That's why I have Sabo and Lu," Ace said.

"Come on!" Shanks whined. "You know who I'm dating!"

"I just know his name and what he looks like. And that he takes no shit," Ace replied.

"That's Benn's essence! Just tell me, I already know there's someone."

Ace sighed deeply. "Fine." He moved to the counter where Shanks was basically brimming. "I'm dating a guy. Just don't tell Lu and Sabo, they don't know yet."

"Ah yes," Shanks said wistfully. "The infamous third degree. Don't worry, I won't tell." A mischievous grin appeared on his face. "If you give his name."

Ace let out a frustrated sound. "You're so annoying. Fine. It's Marco."

Shanks's eyebrows rose. "Marco? You mean Marco, Marco? That sly bastard." The latter he said more to himself than to Ace.

"What? You're the one who sent me to him."

"Yeah, for his autograph! If I'd known he was gonna try to get into your pants..."

"It's no one's business but mine who gets into my pants," Ace said, crossing his arms before his chest. "Besides, shouldn't you worry about keeping your store open with no customers?"

"Well, that was below the belt," Shanks said, pouting.

"I'm just worried about my job," Ace replied. "And my boss," he muttered, hoping Shanks wouldn't hear him.

Of course he did, though, with his ears like a bat, and he grabbed at his heart. "You're worried about me!"

"Ugh, yes, fine!" Ace spat. "But like I said, if customers don't think we're open, they won't come in to buy books."

"There's a sign on the door," Shanks pointed out.

"Sure, but..." Ace hesitated. He came dangerously close to asking Shanks to reveal his true identity. But he needed to know for sure. "Would it kill you to let in a little sunlight?" He studied Shanks' face, but nothing. "Now that I think about it," he added as innocently as possible, "I don't think I've ever seen you outside during the day. Do you have a sun allergy or something?"

"I just prefer dark places, that's all," Shanks said with a shrug. "But if it would make you feel better to see me in the sun..." He walked towards the door.

Ace wanted to stop him, because he liked Shanks too much to make him hurt himself, but Shanks had already turned the knob. Sunlight flooded inside, and Ace was immediately blinded by the glow that came off Shanks.

"I- I can't believe Stephenie Meyer was right," he stammered.

"Right about what?" Shanks asked, closing the door again.

"You're glowing in the sunlight!"

"What? Oh, I just messed around with glitter." Shanks combed with his hand through his hair, and tiny flecks of glitter fell out.

Ace stared at him, his mouth open. So Shanks wasn't glowing, and he also wasn't burned by sunlight. "Does that mean you're not..."

"I'm not, what?" Shanks asked, confused, before a comprehensive look appeared on his face. "You didn't think..." He started to chuckle. "You thought I was a vampire?!"

The chuckle became louder, and soon turned into a proper evil genius laugh as Shanks threw back his head. His pupils became narrow, like those of a snake, and bat-like wings sprouted from his back at the same time as horns grew from his head. His missing left arm was suddenly there, made from flames.

"You thought I was a vampire?" he exclaimed again. "I thought it was pretty obvious I'm a demon!"


	19. Chapter 19

Thanks MyLadyDay and Vergina-spva for beta'ing

* * *

"Ace?" Even through the heavy oak door, the worry was evident in Shanks' voice. "I didn't mean to scare you!"

Ace didn't reply and remained seated with his back against the door of the side room. It wasn't part of the store, though there was still a bookcase in there. It did liven up the room a bit, because besides a heavy wooden table, the room kind of looked like a dungeon, with walls from large grey stones.

The heavy door was the only thing that currently kept Ace sane, though. A vampire he could have handled, but a demon?! He wasn't even sure if the cross around his neck would be enough for this. He should have gotten more holy water after Luffy drank it!

At some level, he knew he was being ridiculous, because Shanks was harmless, but the horns and the arm made from fire had freaked him out. He just needed to calm himself down right now.

Somewhere far away, the bell above the front door chimed, and Ace briefly wondered if Shanks was still looking like a demon, because then customers would definitely stop coming.

There was a deep rumbling voice from across the store, but Ace couldn't hear what the person was saying. Shanks replied from a lot closer, "Ace won't come out."

The rumbling voice moved closer and Shanks replied again, though Ace couldn't understand what they were saying even when he pressed his ear against the door. Then the deep voice disappeared and Shanks' suddenly sounded close again.

"Ace, if I promise I won't steal your soul, will you please let me in?"

"He won't stop whining until you let him in, you know," a deep voice suddenly said close to Ace.

"Yeah, I know, he can be a whiner," Ace said, when his eyes widened, and his head whipped to the side. Benn was standing in the room, the very same room which only entrance Ace was currently shielding.

"Wha- Why... How the hell did you get in here?!" Ace finally all but shrieked. "Are you a ghost?!" Benn didn't look much like a ghost, if Izo's translucence was anything to go by, but what the hell did Ace know? Passing through the wall seemed like a reasonable option in his upside-down world.

"I'm not a ghost," Benn said. "That bookcase is actually a secret door, see?" He pulled a seemingly random book and the bookcase slide to the side.

Ace's mouth hung open. "Wha...?"

"Why else did you think there was a bookcase in the part of the store no customer comes?" Benn asked, looking annoyingly amused.

"I don't know, to have something to read on breaks?" Ace suggested, though even he wasn't convinced. He had never questioned the bookcase.

Benn looked at him deadpanned. "Yes," he slowly said, "because that's what bookstores generally lack. Something to read. But I heard Shanks frightened you," he continued.

Ace looked at Benn sideways as he joined Ace on the floor. "Do you... know?" he slowly asked.

"That he's a demon? Yes, I do."

"Oh." Somehow, that answer took Ace aback.

"But I know the horns and the tail can be a bit much," Benn continued.

"He has a _tail_?" Ace exclaimed. "I didn't even notice because, you know, his arm was on fucking fire!"

"Yeah," Benn just said.

"Are you one too?" Ace asked suspiciously.

Benn laughed. "A demon? Me? Nah."

"He's really not," Shanks voice suddenly sounded inside the room, and for the third time that day, Ace felt like he had a heart attack. Once again, he hadn't heard the bookcase move.

"Those are some well oiled hinges," he muttered.

"WD-40," Shanks said. "That is some miracle stuff." He was looking like his normal, one-armed self again, without any extra attachments. "Have you calmed down a bit?"

"I guess," Ace said. "I mean, I wasn't expecting... _that_ , but I know you long enough to know you're harmless. I mean, you're not going to steal my soul, are you?" He fell silent when realisation hit him. "Wait, or did you already do that?"

"Steal your soul?" Shanks asked, confused. "Wouldn't you notice?"

"I don't know what it feels like to have a soul," Ace muttered.

"Like you feel now. I promise I don't have, nor want, your soul." Shanks moved further into the room and leaned on the edge of the table.

They sat in silence for a while, when Ace asked, "So do you know about... me?"

"Yes, I know you're a werecat," Shanks replied.

"But how?" Ace asked. "I mean... How?"

Shanks smiled almost melancholically. "Because I know who your father was."

Ace looked up. "My father? You mean he was like... this?"

"Yeah, he was. Though he fully controlled it, which I don't think is the case with you, is it? Then again, he had had a lot more time to practice."

Ace blinked slowly, trying to process the information he just got. But it didn't seem like Shanks was done yet.

"The first full moon after you were born was a tricky one. I mean, there was like a fifty-fifty chance there would be a kitten in the crib, so your mom asked me to come by, just in case," Shanks continued, sounding almost dreamy. "But nothing happened then, and nothing happened at other crucial times, like when you hit puberty. So, when you turned eighteen, your mom figured that it wouldn't happen at all, so it would be safe to leave. Does she know?"

"I tried to contact her," Ace said softly.

"Why she would pick, like, the only place in the world without internet is beyond me," Shanks said.

"She's doing good work," Ace muttered. "Wait, if you know all this, why didn't _you_ tell me?"

"I'm not a cat person," Shanks said with a shrug. "I thought Marco would be a good guide. Little did I know that he would try to get into your pants," he added with a pout.

"Shanks, we talked about this! It's none of your business who gets into my pants," Ace said strictly.

"Shanks has boundary issues," Benn said with a slight smirk.

Ace sighed and rubbed his temples. "I can't believe all this. I... You said there was a fifty-fifty chance I would be... this. What is the other fifty per cent chance?"

"That you would be human, obviously," Shanks replied.

"Because... my dad was half human?"

"No, your dad was all werecat. He just looked human. Most of the time."

"But then who is human?"

Shanks looked at him as if he were stupid. "Your mom."

"My mom? But you said she knew about my dad!" Ace exclaimed.

"She does."

"But if she's human, how can she... She's not _allowed_ know, is she?"

"Ehm..." Benn cleared his throat. "I don't know if this helps, but I'm human too, and I know."

Ace just stared at him.

"Yeah, I don't think that helped," Benn said, raising from the floor and walking over to Shanks.

"But I just..." Ace started. "I don't understand! I thought humans weren't allowed to know!"

"There's no official rule," Shanks said. "It's not like you get kicked out of the club if you tell a human."

"But what about the experiments? And the danger?" Ace asked.

"Sure, it's dangerous," Shanks agreed. "I mean, humans are stupid. And xenophobic. And just plain dumb."

Ace looked at Benn, who shrugged.

"The man's got a point."

"Anyway," Shanks continued, "every once in a while, you meet a human who is less stupid and less paranoid, and who is worthy of your trust."

Ace looked at him silently for a while, before whispering, "My brothers don't even know."

"Don't they? Well, I guess they wouldn't considering you thought it wasn't allowed."

Ace played with the hem of his pants. "So, can I tell them?"

"I can't decide that for you, you have to do that yourself," Shanks replied. "The only question you have to answer is, do you trust them with your life?"

"Yes," Ace whispered.

"Well, there you go. Problem solved!" Shanks grinned.

Benn pushed off the table. "Well, I'm glad this crisis is contained. Now I have to meet my publisher to see what she thinks of my manuscript."

"Wait, are you a writer?" Ace asked.

"Well..." Benn said. He was trying to sound modestly, but it was obvious he was proud. Walking over to the bookcase, he pulled out a book – not the secret lever – and showed it to Ace.

" _The demon wears Armani_? You wrote that?" Ace asked. "I love that book! It's great!"

"Greatly inaccurate," Shanks said with a snort. When Benn shot him a look, he shrugged. "Demon-wise, it was. But it's okay, babe, you didn't know me yet."

"Are you writing a sequel?" Ace asked.

"No, but a story with a similar theme," Benn explained, exchanging a look with Shanks. "Just more accurately this time."

"Can I read it?" Ace asked eagerly.

Benn shrugged. "I'll have to ask my publisher, but they're always interested in the opinions of the average reader."

"I think we established today that Ace is anything but average," Shanks said, pushing off the table and moving towards Ace. "You look tired."

Ace looked up at him with large eyes. He had almost forgotten about their earlier conversation, but now everything came rushing back to him and he suddenly felt incredibly tired.

"Why don't you go home for today?" Shanks continued. "You have a busy night ahead, don't you?"

Ace nodded and rose from the ground. "Yeah. Thanks."

"Let me know if there is anything I can help you with. Or if your mom contacts you."

"Thanks," Ace said again, turning the doorknob and forgetting he had locked the door in his panic before. Turning the key, he looked over his shoulder before leaving the room.

Outside the store, he checked his phone and saw he had a missed call from Marco. Without thinking, he called back.

"Hey," Marco said when he picked up. "I know you're working, but I just wanted to ask if you need me to pick you up tonight."

"Ehm, no, that's okay," Ace replied.

"Oh, okay. So what time do you get here then? Should we count on you for dinner?"

"Ehm," Ace said. "No."

"No to dinner?" Marco asked, confused.

"No. I mean, no in general," Ace said hastily. "I'm not coming tonight."

"You're not?" Marco sounded even more confused. "You have other plans?"

"Yes," Ace said, suddenly firmly. "I'm going to tell my brothers."


	20. Chapter 20

Thanks Vergina-spva and MyLadyDay

* * *

While Marco had been to Ace's house, he had never met Ace's brothers. Ace had never invited him over, because apparently, his brothers were kind of overprotective. Marco didn't mind. In fact, he would have liked it if his own brothers didn't know he was dating Ace. That would have saved him a lot of questions from Izo.

"What are you doing here?" a surprised looking Ace asked when he opened the door, but then his voice turned sharp. "If you've come here to talk me out of it, you can save your breath. I already decided I'm going to tell them and there is nothing you can say to stop me!"

"I know," Marco said calmly.

"Oh," Ace said, confused. "Well, good. But why are you here then?"

Marco hoisted his backpack higher on his shoulder. "Moral support," he said. "And, you know, make sure no one's face gets eaten."

Ace opened his mouth to reply, then closed it again and paled. "I... may not have thought this through," he said reluctantly.

"I kind of figured that was the case," Marco said teasingly. "But don't worry, I have got you covered. And the cavalry is on speed dial, in case that's necessary. Plus, Haruta's friend of a friend will be here any minute to help out."

Ace kept silent for a moment, seemingly processing it all. "Thank you," he finally said earnestly.

"You're welcome."

"No," he said, taking Marco's hand, "I mean it." He pulled Marco into kiss.

"So that's what you wanted to tell us?" a male voice suddenly said. "You have a boyfriend?"

Ace let go of Marco and turned to the owner of the voice. In the hallway, two men were standing, one black-haired and one blond. It had seemed that the blond one was the one who had spoken.

"Marco's not my..." Ace started, before turning back to Marco. "Are you my boyfriend?"

Marco shrugged. "Do you want me to be your boyfriend?"

"Do you want me to want you to be my boyfriend?"

"Guys!" the blond man, no doubt Ace's brother Sabo, intervened before Marco could ask if Ace wanted him to want Ace to want him to be his boyfriend. "Could you please decide this? Then we know how much we need to beat him up."

"Or," Ace suggested cautiously, "you don't beat him up at all."

Sabo looked at him as if he had suggested something outrageous. "Of course we have to beat him up," he said matter-of-factly. "Do you remember what happened the first time I brought Koala home?"

"I tried to beat her up and got my ass handed to me," Ace said, pouting. "You could have told me she's a black belt karateka."

"I could have," Sabo agreed, "but that would have been much less funny." He turned to Marco. "Do you know any martial arts?"

"Enough not to let myself be beaten up," Marco replied.

Sabo seemed to consider his words. "Okay, so maybe I'll wait with beating you up," he finally said.

In the meantime, the other man, though barely more than a boy, had approached Marco and looked at him with a very serious look on his face. "Do you poop?" he asked.

"Lu!" Ace exclaimed.

"Yes," Marco said.

Luffy nodded pleased.

Ace made a frustrated sound. "Why are you two even here? This isn't what I wanted to tell you!"

"Then what do you want to tell us?" Sabo asked, still eyeing Marco suspiciously.

"I told you, I can't tell you!"

Sabo sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I don't care if you sing it or tell us through interpretive dance! Just spit it out!"

Ace looked at Marco. "You'll know soon enough."

Sabo made a frustrated sound. "Fine! But in the meantime, we'll go all Spanish inquisition on your boyfriend. Come on, Lu!" He pushed Ace aside and hauled Marco into the house by his shirt. Marco couldn't do much else than let himself be dragged along, followed by Ace who shouted indignantly at his brothers.

The 'Spanish inquisition' part wasn't as bad as Marco had feared, though it did feel like a third degree. He tried to answer all the questions fired at him as truthfully as possible without betraying Ace's true nature.

When Sabo asked how they met, Marco said, "Ace came to me about a book I wrote." Sabo asked what book, but fortunately Luffy interrupted him with a burning question, whether or not Marco liked meat.

While he was being questioned, Marco kept an eye on Ace, who was becoming increasingly nervous, and Marco wondered if he had second thoughts about telling his brothers. He also wondered why Ace had suddenly decided that it was a good idea after all, but he wasn't there to judge. Just to make sure everyone came out of it alive.

Finally, Sabo seemed to grow bored with questioning Marco and he turned to Ace. "Can you now finally just tell us what you wanted to tell us?"

"I told you that I couldn't. And no, I can't sing and/or dance it either."

Sabo looked at Luffy for help, but he just shrugged.

"Maybe it's a secret."

"But we're brothers!" Sabo explained. "We have no secrets!"

"Really?" Luffy asked. "Because you said I couldn't tell Ace-"

The rest of his sentence was lost in mumbling when Sabo put a hand over Luffy's mouth and smiled innocently at Ace.

"What?" Ace asked sharply. "What did you do?"

"Nothing!" Sabo hastily said. "Nothing happened to your toothbrush!"

"Gross! What did you do?!"

A shudder went through Ace's body, and he looked out of the window.

"Ace?" Sabo asked. "Are you okay?" He made to approach Ace, but Marco stopped him.

Pale, Ace turned back to Marco. "Please keep them safe," he whispered.

Marco nodded.

"What the hell is going on, Ace?" Sabo asked sharply.

Ace bit his lip. "You know what I wanted to tell you? Well, it's a full moon tonight..."

"And what? Now you're turning into a werewolf?" Sabo asked with a snort.

Ace looked pleadingly at Marco.

"Ace, I was joking," Sabo said, worry evident in his voice. "Just tell us what's going on!"

"You'd better give him some space," Marco said grimly.

Sabo looked at him confused, and even Luffy became silent, looking at his big brother with wide, owlish eyes.

Ace shivered again, before he collapsed on the ground, heaving, and Marco had to stop Sabo from approaching again.

Ace's clothing started to tear as he writhed on the floor. His naked skin sprouted hair and his body slowly transformed.

Marco chanced a look at Sabo and Luffy, who watched the spectacle silently. Sabo looked shocked, disbelieving, as he stared at Ace with his mouth hanging open. Luffy, surprisingly, didn't look all that surprised, but Marco didn't really know him.

When the transformation was finally over, Ace, in cat-form, slowly rose to his feet, the tatters of what used to be his clothing falling off him to the floor.

"What..." Sabo finally whispered, but he was interrupted by Luffy again.

"Kitty!" he exclaimed and jumped towards Ace before Marco had a chance to stop him.


	21. Chapter 21

Thanks to Vergina-spva and MyLadyDay for beta'ing

* * *

Marco stood frozen for a second next to Sabo as Ace arched his back and hissed at Luffy, taking a defensive stance. He had promised to keep Ace's brothers safe, so if Ace did pounce, he would have to do something.

It would be better to prevent that from happening, though.

"Luffy!" he called, throwing him a plastic toy ball with a little bell inside, which he dug out of his backpack.

Luffy caught it, turning back to Ace as he jingled the ball. "Look, Ace!"

Ace stopped, standing dead-still as his eyes followed the ball in Luffy's hand, only his tail flicking back and forth. Slowly, he sat down and lifted up a paw, only to give a soft tap against Luffy's hand.

The was no mauling, no blood, no screams.

Marco felt a slight jab of jealousy as he watched Luffy reach out to pet Ace, and Ace letting him. The closest Marco had gotten to not being eaten was when Thatch had used the catnip, and that hadn't been a pleasant experience either. Would Ace recognise Luffy? Or would his cat-instinct just tell him Luffy wasn't a threat?

The doorbell rang, and neither Luffy nor Sabo seemed inclined to answer it. Sabo was still frozen to the ground, and Luffy was playing with Ace.

As things seemed to be under control, at least for the moment, Marco decided to open the door himself. It was probably the gal who knew a guy who knew Haruta, anyway. Before he left, though, he decided to leave a little insurance.

Rummaging through the content of his backpack again, he pulled out a small plastic bag and pressed it into Sabo's hand.

Finally, Sabo seemed to wake from his trance and he looked at the bag. "What the hell is this? Weed? Because I think I'm already high!"

"It's catnip," Marco called over his shoulder. "Don't smoke it." He entered the hallway and opened the door. On the doorstep, a black haired woman with piercing blue eyes was standing.

"Ah," she said calmly when she saw him, "I was starting to think you had all been torn to pieces already."

"No, not yet," Marco replied dryly. "Are you the one who knows someone who knows Haruta?"

"I suppose I am. But call me Robin."

"Marco," he introduced himself, taking a second to listen if there was any screaming, but things still seemed calm in the living room. He let Robin pass and followed her inside the house.

Luffy was sitting on the floor while Ace was lying on his back, his paws wrapped around Luffy's hands as he playfully bit him. Sabo was still standing in the same spot, the bag of catnip intact in his hand.

"Well," Robin said, "it seems like you have things under control."

"Yeah, I don't really understand it. He's never that sweet with me," Marco said bitterly.

Robin shot him an amused look.

Luffy looked up. "Oh, hey Robin," he said.

She smiled back.

"Wait, you know her?" Marco asked, confused.

"Sure," Luffy said, waving the ball in front of Ace's face and laughing as Ace tried to catch it.

"Okay," Marco just said, turning back to Robin. "I'm still not sure how you can help to make him conscious in this state, though. He might not be trying to eat us at the moment, but he is still very much... cat."

"Cats are my specialty," Robin said. "You see, I'm a witch."

"I'm sure you are a lovely person," Sabo said, sounding exhausted.

She raised her eyebrow. "No, I mean I'm an actual witch." She pointed at her head, where suddenly a black pointy hat appeared.

Sabo gaped at her, stumbling back until he hit the couch and flopped down. "This can't be happening," he muttered, burying his face in his hands. "Witches, giant cats, and God knows what you are," he said almost accusingly to Marco. "At this point I wouldn't even be surprised if Koala turned out to be an actual koala bear!"

"There, there," Robin said. She snapped her fingers and a cup appeared in her hand, which she handed to Sabo. "Have some tea."

"I don't need your witch brews!" Sabo snapped.

Robin blinked. "It's camomile," she said.

Sabo groaned and let his head fall back against the back of the couch, but almost immediately he shot up again. "You!" he exclaimed. "Luffy, did you know about this?"

Luffy looked up from scratching Ace behind his ear, who was purring so loudly that the floor was practically vibrating. "Sure," he said.

"About who? Ace or her?" Sabo pointed at Robin.

Luffy looked at him with wide eyes. "Both," he said, as if it had been a silly question.

"How?!"

"Robin told me."

"And Ace?!"

Luffy hummed as he thought. "A few months ago, I had to pee at night and I heard something coming from Ace's room. And when I went in, I saw him turn into a cat and then go out of the window. Looking like this," he then told them. "I wanted to go after him, but I really had to pee and when I came back I couldn't find him."He pouted. "And the next morning he snuck inside and never said anything, so I thought it was a secret. You know, like when you-"

"Let's not talk about that!" Sabo interrupted him.

"Sabo, why aren't you petting Ace?" Luffy asked, pouting.

"'Cause I don't want to pet my brother."

"You pet me all the time!"

"That's because you're adorable."

"And so is Ace! Look at him!" Luffy turned Ace's head towards Sabo and Ace bared his white, pointy teeth.

"Kitten," Sabo said dryly. Still, he put away Robin's not so magical tea and sat down on the ground next to Luffy. Cautiously, he held out his hand. Ace looked at it suspiciously, sniffing it like it could explode at any minute. Then, he pressed his head against Sabo's hand.

"Wow, he still likes me!" Sabo exclaimed, surprised.

Marco decided to ignore the sting of jealousy. Instead, he turned to Robin. "You haven't really explained yet how you can help Ace."

"Yes, I should get to work, shouldn't I?" Robin said, rising from her seat on the arm of the couch. "To answer your question, I am an expert on cats. House cats, that is, though he seems mellow enough right now."

Marco huffed.

Robin smiled knowingly, before walking over to where Sabo and Luffy were still petting Ace. There, she crossed her arms before her chest and transformed into a cat. A small cat, that is. Sabo was startled, but Luffy just grinned.

Ace froze for a second, Luffy's hand still scratching his chin. He sat up, his tail sweeping from side to side as he seemed to be waiting for something. Robin sat in front of him, her tail around her front legs, and she eyed him calmly. It seemed like she wasn't doing anything, blinking slowly as she watched Ace.

Ace tilted his head and looked back at her.

"It... looks like they're talking?" Sabo said slowly as he and Luffy moved away from the scene.

"Maybe she can understand him," Luffy said.

They sat down on either side of Marco on the couch, and Marco wondered if he should feel intimidated.

"So," Sabo said, eyeing Ace and Robin, who were still sitting in the same position, "how long have you known this?"

"Couple of months," Marco answered truthfully. "Ace thought... he might be a werewolf after some weird experiences during a full moon. So he came to me."

"Why?" Sabo demanded.

Marco rolled his eyes. "Because I wrote a... book on the subject."

"Werewolves?"

"More mythological creatures in general."

"Is this the book?" Sabo asked, retrieving The Truth About Mythological Creatures from behind the couch. "I borrowed it from Ace. But are you saying all of this is actually true?"

"Of course."

"So, all mythological creatures are real?"

"I wouldn't say all of them," Marco said. "I'm sure you humans have _some_ imagination."

"I still can't believe Ace didn't tell us, but he did tell you," Sabo said accusingly.

"I know it'll not make you like me more, but I'm afraid that's my fault," Marco said. The look Sabo gave him confirmed his suspicions. "But," he hastily continued, "not without good reason. Humans are not... great with keeping these kinds of secrets. The government wants to prevent mass hysteria, so they keep quiet about it, but they also want to use us for scientific purposes."

"You mean like weapons?" Sabo asked disbelievingly.

"Weapons, medicine... You name it. People have disappeared. Friends of mine have." Marco sighed. "So no, I can't say I was thrilled when Ace announced he was going to tell you. But, to be fair, I have never bonded with a human the way you do. So I trust you'll keep it a secret."

Sabo nodded, before looking over to where Ace and Robin were sitting. They hadn't moved at all, only flicking the tip of their tails ever so often as they continued to stare at each other. "I wonder what they are doing," Sabo mused out loud. He reached into his pocket and retrieved the bag of catnip. "Does this really work on Ace?"

Marco let out a snort. "Oh yes. I had to use it once, as a last resort. It was not pleasant."

"What do you mean, last resort?"

"Are you kidding me?" Marco huffed. "This is the first time I see him like this! Both times I was with him, he tried to eat my face. You don't have to be so happy about that," he added when Sabo grinned broadly.

"Why not? Ace didn't want us to beat you up, but it seems like he did our work for us," Sabo said smugly. "Besides, you must be so jealous he's nice to us! But I am curious what happened when you used this." He looked at the plastic bag.

"He became... high and lay on me for what felt like hours," Marco said, the event coming back to him all too vividly.

"Like that?" Sabo asked, trying – and failing – to hold his laughter as he pointed at Ace's enormous cat-shape.

"Yes," Marco said through gritted teeth.

"I would have paid to see that- Luffy, no!" Sabo exclaimed when Luffy suddenly snatched the bag from his hand and opened it to pour the content into his mouth.

"Gross!" Luffy exclaimed as he spit it out again. "That tastes like vegetables!"

Marco and Sabo ignored him as suddenly two pairs of cat eyes were aimed directly at them.

"Uh-oh."


	22. Chapter 22

Thanks Vergina-spva and MyLadyDay for beta'ing

* * *

Robin let out a sound that could only be described as a shriek as she started to bounce around the room. She raced past the couch, climbing into the curtains, before sliding out of them again, leaving them in tatters.

Marco looked over his shoulder, momentarily distracted by her behaviour, his one mistake. From the corner of his eye, he saw Sabo dive away, pulling Luffy with him. Marco turned back to the situation in front of him as he rose from the couch, only to have large paws push him back down as Ace jumped him. Marco stumbled backward, falling back on the couch.

"Not again!" he groaned as Ace started to purr in his ear.

Sabo scrambled to his feet, moving out of the way of Robin when she raced past. "Why are you whining?" he asked with a smirk on his face that could only be called downright evil. "Weren't you jealous that Ace was nice to Luffy? He seems nice to you now," he added sweetly.

Marco narrowed his eyes at him.

"So," Sabo continued, lifting up his foot to let Robin past again, and sat down next to where Marco was squashed, "now that you're here," he grinned evilly again, "let's talk. You said 'you humans', that implies that you're not. I kind of suspected that, since Ace confided in you, but still. So, spill."

"I would," Marco said, wincing as a purring Ace dug his nails into his flesh, "but Ace doesn't even know."

Sabo frowned. "Why not?"

"Well, we have a sort of bet that he could guess it and as of now, he has not," Marco replied.

"Okay," Sabo started, when a phone on the table next to couch started to vibrate. Sabo leaned over, smiled, then frowned, hesitated and then picked up. "Hey Koala. No, I wasn't asleep yet."

Marco turned his head to him, slightly intrigued, but also not able to do anything else anyway with Ace lying on top of him. Robin raced past again, meowing loudly.

"No, we don't have a cat," Sabo hastily said to Koala. "It's an... uhm, stray. No, you can't stop by!" he suddenly exclaimed. "Why? I mean..." He looked helplessly at Marco.

Marco snorted. "I currently have a giant cat lying on my bladder. Deal with your own problems."

"I, ehm," Sabo said again. "Luffy has a dentist appointment early tomorrow, so I should probably go to sleep soon. You know what a sweet tooth he is." He laughed awkwardly.

"But I don't wanna go to the dentist!" Luffy protested before Sabo shushed him.

"Yeah, you can still come over in the afternoon. Night, Koala." He hung up the phone and sighed, placing it back on the side table. "I hate lying to her, you know that. I'm a bad liar, even worse than Ace." He looked at Marco sharply. "I can't believe you made him lie to us. I was worried sick about him, you know that? I thought he was falling into a depression or something."

"I told you why he couldn't tell you."

"Yeah, because humans can't keep secrets, I know. But we're not just any humans, we're his brothers," Sabo spat. Then he huffed. "How long does that stuff work anyway?"

"The catnip? About fifteen minutes," Marco said, watching Robin bounce past again. She probably wouldn't be thrilled once she was human again.

"Then I'm going to brush my teeth," Sabo announced and turned around brusquely.

"Don't use Ace's toothbrush again!" Luffy called after him.

Sabo froze for a second, but then continued up the stairs.

Marco sighed deeply. He couldn't help feeling slightly guilty about the whole ordeal. He also really had to pee.

Luffy sat down next to him on the couch and started to pet Ace. "You know," he said thoughtfully, "Ace doesn't make friends easily. I have a lot of friends, and Sabo has Koala and people from the dojo, but Ace doesn't have a lot of people. So, I'm glad he has you and the meat guy."

"What meat guy?" Marco asked, confused.

"A guy that was here who smelled like meat."

"What did he look like?"

Luffy shrugged.

"Do you mean Thatch?" Marco asked. He was the only person Marco knew that had been here, as far as Marco knew.

Luffy shrugged again. "He was going to cook for me, but he hasn't yet."

Marco just nodded, trying to relax beneath Ace's weight and claws still digging into his body.

Luffy reached out his hand to pet Ace again. "Sabo's worried, and he doesn't like being lied to."

"He's not lied to. Not anymore, anyway." Marco scratched absent-mindedly behind Ace's ear. He couldn't say he was comfortable right now, but he was starting to get used to it.

Footsteps were coming down the stairs and Sabo came back into the room, almost tripping over Robin who hadn't stopped running in circles. "So the circus is still happening?" he asked, sounding annoyed.

Just then, Robin came to an abrupt stop, blinking a few times. Then she transformed back into her human form. She turned towards the couch, her cheeks slightly tinted in anger and embarrassment if her face was anything to go by. "I," she started, then closed her mouth again, her chest heaving. "I have to go," she finally said.

"Sorry about the catnip," Marco called after her.

Robin froze in her track, turning around. "I do not wish to talk about it," she said firmly, her blue eyes glittering dangerously. She turned back, then changed her mind. "You may not see much of me for a while. Good evening." Brusquely, she walked away.

"Bye, Robin!" Luffy called.

The door slammed shut, and Sabo immediately started to snicker. "She was so embarrassed!"

"Robin's so funny!" Luffy said, laughing.

"So, she went back to normal, what about Ace?" Sabo asked, still hiccupping.

Macro looked down at the still purring Ace. "He should snap out of it soon enough."

"And then what?" Sabo asked. "We just wait up and pet him?"

"I... honestly don't know," Marco said. "Last times he tried to rip me to shreds. The first time he had to be knocked out and the second time we just locked him in a room until he turned back to normal. Seriously, my brother was wearing full medieval armour and Ace tried to eat him like he was a can of tuna."

"Your brother?" Sabo asked sharply, as if that was the most remarkable word in that sentence.

"The meat guy," Luffy said, nodding as if he understood everything.

Marco just gaped at him, surprised once again at Luffy's sharpness.

"Who, that guy?" Sabo said, turning to Marco. " _Your_ brother knows and we, Ace's brothers, didn't know. And he doesn't even look like you!"

"Neither do you three," Marco retorted.

Sabo looked like he was about to say something, but then changed his mind, and Marco got the feeling he just got the slightest bit of respect from Sabo.

"My brother," Marco continued, "is not really my brother, as you might have gathered. The man I call Pops protects mythological creatures like us. Like Ace."

Their conversation was interrupted when Ace suddenly lifted his head, his dilated pupils turning back to normal. He blinked slowly a few times, before his eyes focused on Marco. White teeth shone in the lamplight as a pink tongue slid across them.


	23. Chapter 23

Thanks MyLadyDay and Vergina-spva for beta'ing

* * *

Ace woke up with a gasp, looking around bewildered. He was lying on his own couch, naked and only covered with a sheet. The living room was a mess, furniture tumbled over and books and videogames everywhere. The curtains were torn, too, though the claw marks weren't as big as Ace wouldn't have imagined his would be.

Fortunately, though, there were no bloodstains or torn limbs and/or bones lying around, but the fact that Sabo, Luffy, nor Marco were anywhere in sight still worried Ace.

There were sounds coming from the kitchen, and Ace jumped up, barely remembering to wrap the sheet around his waist as he hurried towards it.

Marco had his back turned to Ace as he poured freshly made coffee into a mug. As far as Ace could see, he wasn't wounded and still had all his limbs firmly attached to his body.

"Marco!" Ace called out in relief.

Marco turned around, his face still in the right spot, taking a sip. "Ah, good morning."

"You're okay!"

"No thanks to you," Marco said, but there was no malice in his voice, only amusement.

"I tried to eat you again?" Ace asked, disappointed. "What about Sabo and Lu?"

Something changed in Marco's face, and he turned back to the counter. "Oh, _they_ 're fine," he said, miffed.

"Oh," Ace said, taken aback. "That's good, right? Shouldn't you be... happy about that?"

Marco turned back to him, looking mightily annoyed. "Don't get me wrong, I _am_ happy you didn't eat your brothers. But... You didn't even _try_ to eat them a little bit!" he all but whined. "I mean, Luffy called you kitty, he tackled you to the floor and you just let him _pet_ you! While me... You tried to eat my face! Again!"

Ace snorted, covering his mouth with his hand to hold back his laughter. "You're jealous!"

"Excuse me for not enjoying my boyfriend trying to eat me."

Ace snorted again and patted his hand. "I'm sorry. But I really didn't try to eat my brothers?" He couldn't help but feel excited. That sounded like progress, right?

Marco shook his head. "Not even a little taste."

"Why not, though?" Ace frowned.

"I don't know," Marco said through gritted teeth.

"Maybe because they're human?" Ace suggested. "I mean, I tried to eat you and Thatch, and you're not human."

"Maybe," Marco said, not sounding convinced. "But last night, there was another mythological creature here, and you didn't try to eat her either."

"Her?" Ace asked.

"Yeah. Haruta's friend of a friend came by, who is also Luffy's direct friend, apparently. Her name is Robin, and she's a witch," Marco explained. "She tried to communicate with you by turning into a cat, which went fairly well, until a... eh... mishap."

Ace narrowed his eyes. "What kind of mishap?"

Marco cleared his throat. "Some catnip was spilled. But hey, by then you stopped trying to eat me and started using me like a cushion."

"Sorry."

"At least you didn't go crazy like Robin." Marco seemed amused when he remembered the event.

That explained the small claw marks Ace had seen. "Okay, but maybe I didn't try to eat her because she was a cat."

Marco smiled. "Okay, I accept your hypothesis, if only to protect my ego. Now, where's my good morning kiss?"

Ace grinned and leaned in, letting go of his sheet in favour of wrapping his arms around Marco.

Someone cleared their throat behind them, and Ace turned half around in Marco's arms.

"Sabo! You're okay!"

"Yeah," Sabo said, looking deadpanned. "Don't mind me, I'm just here for the coffee. Also, I can see up your sheet."

Hastily, Ace rearranged his sheet, as Marco handed Sabo a cup of coffee.

"Are you mad, Sabo?" Ace asked.

"Why would I be mad? My brother is a werecat and hid it from me for months. Nothing to be mad about." Sabo took a long sip of his coffee without looking away from Ace.

"Sabo, I get that you're upset..." Ace started, but Sabo interrupted him.

"You get that I'm upset?!"

"That sounds like my cue to leave," Marco muttered and fled the kitchen.

As soon as he had left, Sabo put his cup on the counter with a loud smack. "I know Marco told you not to tell us, but he doesn't know us. You do. You should have trusted us."

"I know," Ace said, "I'm sorry."

Sabo huffed. "Yeah, yeah. At least you told us now, I guess. Or me. Because apparently, Luffy already knew."

"Luffy what?!"

"He saw you transform, probably one of the first times it happened," Sabo said, displeased. "He never said anything because he thought it was a secret."

Ace stared at him horrified.

Sabo sighed deeply. "I guess that's our fault for telling him he can't tell stuff. No more secrets from now on, okay?"

Ace narrowed his eyes. "Then tell me what happened to my toothbrush."

"I accidentally used it, okay? And then I dropped it in the toilet," Sabo said with a shrug. "Don't worry, I cleaned it."

"You could have just bought me a new one!" Ace exclaimed.

They fell silent for a moment.

"Okay, so no more secrets then," Sabo finally said.

"Agreed. Speaking of, what do you think of Marco?" Ace couldn't help but sound excited. In all the commotion he only now realised that Marco was the first boyfriend Sabo and Lu met.

Sabo huffed. "He told you to keep a secret from us. What do you think I think of him?"

"Well, yeah, but like you said, he didn't know you," Ace replied. "And I like Koala now too, so can you at least try?"

Sabo sighed deeply. "I suppose I could try. He does make a damn good coffee." He poured himself another mug.

Together, they walked towards the living room, where they were passed by a Luffy-shaped blur that ran towards the kitchen.

"Morning, Lu!" Sabo called over his shoulder.

"Morning!" Luffy called back, sounding like his head was already fridge.

In the living room, Marco was sitting on the couch, sipping coffee. "You two okay?" he asked.

Ace looked at Sabo.

"We are," Sabo said.

"And Sabo's gonna try and like you," Ace added excitedly.

"We're all very excited," Sabo said deadpanned.

Ace stuck out his tongue. "Well, here's your chance to become friends. I'm gonna leave you to put on pants."

"If you want," Marco said, a suggestive smile on his face.

"I want it," Sabo said.

Ace rolled his eyes. "Just be nice." With that, he left the room.

Just as he was about to made his way up the stairs, the doorbell rang. Wrapping his sheet tighter around his waist, he opened the door. "Oh hey, Koala."

"Hi," she replied, raising an eyebrow. "Nice sheet."

"Thanks."

"Is Sabo back from the dentist yet?" Koala asked.

Ace cocked his head. "Dentist?"

"Yeah, I called last night to see if I could come over, but Sabo said he had to get up early 'cause he had to take Luffy to the dentist in the morning."

"Oh," Ace said, as it dawned on him that Sabo had lied to cover for him. "Sorry, I just woke up. Yeah, he's back. Sabo! Koala's here!" he yelled over his shoulder.

Sabo entered the hallway. "Oh, hi. You're here already."

"Yeah." Koala looked from one to the other. "Aren't you going to invite me in?"

"Of course!" Sabo hastily said. "Come on in." He led her to the living room.

Suddenly having an ominous feeling, Ace followed them inside, where Koala had just spotted Marco.

"Hi," she said.

"Hello."

"Koala, this is Marco," Ace said. "We're sorta dating. Marco, Koala."

"Nice to meet you," Koala said, sitting down on the arm of the couch. "I take it you already had your inaugural ceremony?"

"Mine was postponed indefinitely," Marco replied.

Koala looked at Sabo, who just shrugged. "Well, I kicked Ace's butt when I was first introduced, I'd be happy to kick Sabo's for you. Really, it's no trouble."

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be on my side?" Sabo protested.

Koala turned to him, and Ace saw something had changed in her face. "Not when you're lying to me."

Sabo's eyes widened. "Lying? Who... Who's lying? I'm not lying!"

She crossed her arms before her chest. "Really? So you did take Luffy to the dentist this morning?"

"Of course," Sabo stammered. "He had a lot of cavities."

"And they were filled?"

"Yes," Sabo said.

"Did he need anaesthesia?"

"Yes," Sabo said, relieved, "lots of it!"

"And yet he can eat like that?" Koala pointed to the corner where Luffy was devouring his breakfast. Luffy looked up when he heard his name, looking at them with large eyes.

"Ehm," Sabo said. He was starting to sweat. Sabo was an awful liar, especially to Koala. "I..."

"You'd better stop lying right now," Koala said, crossing her arms before her chest. "I'll ask you one more time. Why couldn't I come over last night?"

"I... Er... Ehm," Sabo stammered.

Torn, Ace looked from Sabo to Koala. Guilt was eating him up. He was forcing Sabo to lie, and he couldn't watch it any longer.

"Wait," he said, and all eyes were suddenly on him. "It's my fault."

"How is it your fault that Sabo's lying?" Koala asked.

"'Cause..." Ace looked around, his eyes resting on Sabo's pleading face. Then he sighed. "'Cause I told Sabo a secret last night, and he was still pretty shaken when you called." At least that was part of the truth.

For a moment, Koala just looked at him. "I see," she finally said, "that must have been one hell of a secret then. Oh," she continued slowly as she caught Ace and Marco exchanging a look. "I understand."

"Y-you do?" Ace asked.

"Of course," Koala said. "But I thought Sabo already knew you like men?"

Now it was Ace's and Sabo's turn to exchange a look.

"Ehm, no," Sabo said slowly. "It was a huge surprise. I caught them kissing in the hallway and I was like..." He made an explosion sound. "But now I'm cool with it," he hastily added.

"I guess it would make sense you wouldn't out Ace to me," Koala said. "So for this time, I'll let it slide. But you'd better not lie to me again," she added warningly to Sabo.

"I won't," he hastily said and kissed her cheek.

Koala sighed and looked around. "You live in a pigsty, you know that? And what happened to your curtains?"

"It was the cat. Remember I told you?" Sabo said, sounding relieved he could tell something truthful.

"The stray, right? Is it still here?" Koala asked, excited.

"No, she left."

"That's too bad. Next time you have a cat, you'd better invite me over," Koala said. "I don't care if Ace just told you he's a werewolf!"

"Cat," Ace said without thinking.

Koala turned to him. "What?"

"Eh," Ace said, realising his mistake. "We had a cat here."

"I know," Koala said slowly. "Sabo just said. Are you feeling okay, Ace?"

"Just a little tired," Ace replied, scratching the back of his head.

Koala hummed. "By the way, Ace, I don't know if this is some kind metaphoric celebration of freedom," she gestured in Ace's general area, "but can you please put on some pants?"

"Yeah, sounds like a plan." Ace cast one last look at Marco and Sabo and headed for his room. When his foot hit the first step, Sabo followed him into the hallway.

"Hey," Ace said, waiting until Sabo had closed the door to the living room behind him before continuing, "I'm sorry you still have to lie to Koala."

"That's okay," Sabo said. "Well, actually, it's not okay, but I do understand you don't want to shout your... situation from the rooftops. And Koala said she understands. I mean, it's basically the same as coming out of the closet, right? Just a mythological one instead of a metaphorical one."

"I guess you could see it that way," Ace said pensively.

"Please let me see it like that," Sabo said. "Otherwise, I'm just a guy lying to his girlfriend."

"By the way," Ace changed the subject, "you did know I like guys, right?"

Sabo rolled his eyes. "Duh. That's something you actually told me, instead of springing it on me like your mythological thing last night."

Ace smiled sheepishly. "I didn't think you'd believe me if I just told you."

"I probably would have. Eventually. Anyway, I still have a lot of questions," Sabo said.

Ace snorted. "You and me both."


	24. Chapter 24

Thanks Vergina-spva and MyLadyDay for beta'ing

* * *

Ace was just buttoning up his pants when there was a knock on his door. He called to enter, and Marco peeked his head around the corner.

"Seems like I just missed the show," he said, amused, and eyed him up and down. "Half of it, anyway."

Ace gave him a deadpanned look. "What's up?"

"I need to get to work, so I wanted to say goodbye."

"Okay," Ace said, a little disappointed. "Marco?" he called after him when Marco was about to pull his head back. Marco turned back, opening the door a bit further.

"Thank you for coming over last night," Ace said. "I mean, in hindsight it would have been okay, but we didn't know that then. And it was nice that someone could give a bit of background so that Sabo's head wouldn't explode."

Marco smiled. "You're welcome." He leaned in for a kiss.

Once he had left, Ace sighed and put on a shirt, leaving it hanging open for good measure. Downstairs, Koala, Sabo and Luffy were sitting on the floor, playing a video game, yelling at each other and the TV.

Ace sat down behind them on the couch. "Were you nice to Marco while I was away?"

"I'm always nice," Sabo replied. "Get out of the way!" he yelled at the TV.

"Marco does seem nice," Koala said. "How did you meet? He said he teaches at the university, that doesn't sound like a place you frequent."

"Through a friend," Ace said vaguely.

Koala seemed to think so as well, as she looked around deadpanned. "Just like that? I need details, man!"

"I told Shanks I liked a book and he knew the author, which is Marco," Ace said, deciding to be as truthful as possible.

"What book?" Koala asked, eyes aimed at the television.

"Ehm, you wouldn't know it."

"Try me."

"It's called _The Truth About Mythological Creatures_."

She turned around, while her fingers kept pressing buttons of the controller. "Mythological creatures?" she asked slowly.

"Well, eh, it's just a hobby, so he wrote it under a pseudonym," Ace said hastily. "He's a well-respected zoologist."

"Sounds like a weird hobby, but whatever floats your boat, I guess," Koala said, still not paying attention to the television, until the victory tune sounded. "Ha, I win."

"That's not fair!" Luffy whined. "You weren't even looking."

"Well, Ace can take over from me," Koala said, handing him the controller. "I have to use the bathroom."

"So, is that really how you met Marco?" Sabo asked once she was out of earshot.

Ace selected a character to play with in the game and waited until Sabo and Luffy had done the same. "Yeah. I hoped he could give me some answers. I didn't know for sure I was actually transforming then, though, and Marco did nothing to encourage the idea."

"You said Shanks referred you to Marco, though. Does that mean he's...?" Sabo asked, but just then, Koala entered the room again.

"I have to go," she said. "Hack just called, and there is some issue with the renovation of the dojo."

"Anything I can help with?" Sabo asked, pausing the game and ignoring Luffy's complaints.

"Nah, someone just needs to yell at the construction workers."

"Then you'll be just fine," Sabo said teasingly, grinning when she punched him in the shoulder.

"Will you come over tonight?" Koala asked.

"Sure."

"Okay, see you then." She gave him a kiss. "Bye, Luffy, Ace."

"Bye!" Ace and Luffy called, eyes aimed at the TV as they waited for the second Sabo unpaused the game.

"What's with the dojo?" Ace asked when the front door had fallen shut.

"I told you, it's being renovated."

"Why would Hack need Koala to yell at construction workers, though?" Ace asked. "He owns the place, doesn't he?"

"Dunno," Sabo said, pressing down buttons on his controller. "He's not much of a yeller, and Koala is. But don't change the subject! We were talking about Shanks, and what you know."

"What makes you think I know anything?" Ace asked evasively.

"You said no more secrets!"

"What if it's not my secret to tell?"

"Don't make me ask Luffy," Sabo threatened. "He seems to know everything."

Luffy wasn't listening at the moment, his tongue sticking out of his mouth as he was only focused on winning.

"But like you said, it's like outing someone," Ace protested.

Sabo snorted. "Like you wouldn't tell me if someone's gay."

"Fair enough." Ace paused the game, and Sabo and Luffy turned to him. "So, at first Shanks claimed he send me to Marco to get an autograph, but, as it turns out, he is a mythological creature himself."

"Ha, I knew it! No one wears a cape as a fashion statement!" Sabo exclaimed. "He's a vampire, isn't he?"

"Shanks is not a vampire, silly!" Luffy exclaimed, and Ace wasn't even surprised.

"My first guess too, but no."

"Really? Then what's up with his hatred of garlic?" Sabo asked.

"I don't know," Ace said with a sigh, "I guess some people just don't like garlic."

Sabo didn't seem convinced. "What is he then?"

"He's a... demon."

Sabo stared at him for a second. "He's a what now?" he finally asked.

"A demon," Ace repeated. "Bat wings, horns, a tail... The whole shebang. He even has a right arm in that form, made of fire."

"Sounds about right," Luffy said and pressed the pause button on Ace's controller to continue the game.

"He's a demon," Sabo repeated. "Do you think your mom knows? Since she let him babysit us."

"I don't know," Ace admitted. "Probably. Shanks says mom's human and knew about my dad, who was, you know, like me. Shanks's also dating a human who knows about him, which was eventually the reason I decided to tell you guys."

"Which you should have from the start," Sabo said accusingly. "By the way, is it true you don't know what Marco is?"

"I'm pretty sure he likes men," Ace said innocently.

Sabo shot him a deadpanned look over his shoulder.

Ace sighed. "We made a bet that I could guess, but then I got... distracted."

"Don't you want to know then?" Sabo pressed. "I mean, his face and posture look human enough, but what if you're going for a roll in the sack and it turns out he has goat's legs or something."

"He's not a faun," Ace said. "I know enough to know that his legs are human enough too. The rest... I'll see that when I get to it."

"What if everything is human, except his private area, though?" Sabo mused. "What if he has like... a talking dick? Oh, I bet he does have one, shaped like a parrot. With an eye patch!"

"You think Marco is some kind of magical pirate?" Ace asked, deadpanned.

"Maybe. I wouldn't be surprised."

"I'll let you know when I find out. Can we stop talking about dicks now, please?" Ace asked as his character pummelled Sabo's in the game.

"Would you prefer talking about pussy?" Sabo asked with a grin.

"I think there have been enough cats lately. Yes, I know that's not what you meant," Ace said when Sabo looked at him amused. "It was a joke. What's up with you anyway? You're not usually bringing up genitals."

"I'm sleep deprived," Sabo stated matter-of-factly. "Thanks to a certain someone."

"Yay, I win!" Luffy exclaimed suddenly. "You should really pay attention more," he added, reprimanding.

"Hey, apparently, we narrowly escaped getting torn to shreds in real life last night. Virtually, I don't care much. I'm just happy to be in one piece," Sabo said. "Seriously, though," he continued as they started a new match, "aside from witches, werecats, demons and magical pirates," Ace shot him a deadpanned look, "do you know any other mythological creatures?"

Ace hummed. "I know a demi-god..."

"Demi-god?!"

"...and a ghost," Ace continued, "who are actually dating."

"Really? That sounds like the premises of one of those awful teen books," Sabo said.

"I think those are required to have at least one vampire," Ace said. "And preferably a werewolf. I know neither of those."

"Maybe Marco is one of them."

"He doesn't transform at a full moon, and he told me he's no vampire," Ace retorted. "But I might know one, after all. Marco's father protects mythological creatures, so they have all kinds there. I haven't found out what they all are yet."

"Let me know if there are any vampires. I could make a fortune writing about them," Sabo said sarcastically. He gasped. "Or a kissing booth! 'Kiss a real vampire.' Now that's a goldmine!"

"We're trying to keep a low profile, Sabo," Ace said, deadpanned.

Sabo huffed. "How about you then, Lu? Any vampires in your friend group?"

"No! No, you're not paying attention again!" Luffy hit Sabo over the head. "Stupid head!"

"Okay, last round it is then. Luffy's getting aggressive again," Ace said with a sigh. "How much sugar did you eat, Lu?"

"Nothing!" Luffy yelled.

Sabo reached around Luffy and retrieved an empty box of cookies. "He found the cookies I bought."

"You bought cookies?! You really are a stupid head!" Ace gave him a slap on the back of his head.

"I was craving your mom's oatmeal cookies!" Sabo said, pouting. "They weren't the same, though."

"Ace's mom's cookies are the best!" Luffy exclaimed. "Ha! I win again!"

Ace and Sabo exchanged a look and then dove on top of Luffy, taking him into a hold.

"No! Sabo! Your big butt is crushing me!" Luffy exclaimed and he tried to wring loose, but since he couldn't even beat Ace or Sabo separately, with both on top of him, it was no use.

"Just to recap," Sabo said as if he weren't pinning Luffy to the ground, "your dad was a werecat, your mom is a human and I guess thought you were human too. Turns out you started changing a few months ago, for whatever reason. And Luffy's role model is a fire-armed demon. Sounds about right?"

"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up," Ace replied, pinning down Luffy's flailing legs. "I tried to contact my mom to see if she has more answers, but I guess she still hasn't gotten my message."

"Why she picked the only place in the world that has no cell phone connection and no internet is beyond me," Sabo said. "But I'm sure she'll contact you as soon as she can. Still," he continued, "now that I know Shanks's a demon, I can't help but wonder if I know more mythological creatures."

"Maybe Koala is one," Ace said teasingly.

Sabo elbowed him in the ribs. "She's not. Though I don't think I'd mind it that much if she was a mermaid," he added pensively, and his face showed clearly he had some perverted thoughts about that.

"Maybe she's a vampire."

"You gotta stop with the vampires. It's turning into an obsession."

"You're the one who wanted to open the vampire kissing booth," Ace retorted. "And at least I'm not dating a vampire."

"At least _I'm_ not dating a magical pirate."

While they stared at each other, Luffy had given up trying to escape and just pouted. Sabo's facial expression changed, too.

"Do you think that if Koala was a mythological creature that she'd tell me?" he asked.

"Sure she would. Probably. Eventually," Ace said, unconvincingly.

"Maybe I should do some studying," Sabo said, musing, "to see if she has a tell." He turned to Ace. "Can I borrow Marco's book?"


	25. Chapter 25

Thanks MyLadyDay and Vergina-spva for beta'ing

* * *

There was a knock on Marco's office door, and Marco pulled his feet of his desk. Ace was early. In the reflection of the glass-doored bookcase, he checked his hair, and on second thought opened the top button of his dress shirt. Now just to hope it was really Ace and not some student, because that might give the wrong impression.

He checked his reflection one more time, before taking a relaxed pose and called to enter.

It was, unfortunately, not Ace who opened the door, nor any of Marco's students. In fact, as far as Marco could recall, he had never seen this man before – and he had a pretty good memory. The man had grey hair and a matching moustache. With his broad frame, he blocked almost the entire doorway.

Marco straightened, subtly closing up his top button again. "May I help you?"

"Are you Marco Fenwick?"

Marco stiffened, the conversation being eerily familiar. There was only one reason why this man would use that name, and that was to talk about the book.

"It's Newgate," Marco said stiffly. "You must have me confused with someone else."

"So this," the man held up a copy of _The Truth about Mythological Creatures_ and Marco could see the webs between his fingers, "isn't yours?"

"I'm a zoologist," Marco said calmly. "I study real animals. If you have no other business here, please leave."

Much to his surprise, the man just turned and left, taking the book with him. It did nothing to put him at ease, though - rather, it put him on edge.

He didn't have much time to ponder, as Ace entered his office just moments after. "Did I see Hack leave just here?" he asked.

"You mean the man who was just here?" Marco asked, his eyebrow raised. "He never introduced himself. Do you know him?"

Ace scratched the back of his head. "I just saw his frame as he walked away, so I'm not sure. I thought he looked like Hack. He's Sabo's karate instructor. Why, what did he want?"

"Ace, did you tell anyone I wrote the book about mythological creatures?" Marco asked sharply.

Ace thought for a moment. "Sabo and Lu, of course. Oh, and Koala. Why?"

Marco rose and started pacing up and down, his hands behind his back. "That man, who was just here, he asked if I wrote it. If he's really Sabo's karate instructor..."

"Sabo wouldn't tell him," Ace said firmly.

"You just said you also told Koala," Marco pointed out. "Doesn't she also do karate?"

"Well yeah, but... I don't see why she would tell Hack. I mean, she seemed to think mythological creatures were just silly. And I told her it was just a hobby of yours." He pursed his lips. "Maybe it wasn't Hack, I don't know. What do you think he wanted?"

"I don't know."

"Do you think he was like me, a mythological creature looking for help?" Ace asked, almost sounding accusing that Marco sent him away.

"I don't know, Ace." Marco sighed, exasperated. "He may have been a mythological creature, but he didn't seem to be looking for help. He did have webbed fingers, though."

"Hack has that," Ace said pensively, "but Sabo says that's a medical condition."

Marco sighed again. "It might as well have been. And he might as well have been a government agent getting way too close."

"No way, Hack is nice."

"You can't trust anyone, Ace."

"Right, 'cause all humans are evil, right?" Ace asked, deadpanned.

"Alright, alright. Just maybe don't tell random people I wrote that book, okay?"

"Koala isn't random, but I get your point," Ace said. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. He might just have been a fan. Or it wasn't Hack at all."

Ace nodded and shuffled closer. Marco smiled, put his hands on Ace's rear, but then realised where he was and pulled back. "Let's go before they think I'm fondling my students."

Together, they walked outside, but only when they were a safe distance from the university, they started holding hands. Even though it was a pleasant evening, there were few people in the park, and it wasn't hard to find an empty bench at the back of the park.

Ace grinned suggestively, and Marco gladly took the invitation. Ace crawled into his lap, wrapping his arms around Marco.

Marco was just starting to wonder if the bushes behind them would provide enough coverage, when Ace's pants, pressed against his thigh, started to vibrate. Ace rummaged around in his pocket, retrieving his phone. Much to Marco's dismay, Ace moved off his lap and sat down next to him, picking up the phone on speakerphone.

"Hey Sabo, what's up?"

"Hey, Ace. If you're near a supermarket, could you buy some milk? We're out." Luffy's voice said something muffled in the background. "Oh, and bacon," Sabo added. "I just heard we're out of that too."

"We're always out of bacon," Ace replied. "Besides, we just ate."

"So? Like you don't always want bacon. Oh, I get it," Sabo continued mischievously. "Marco's there, isn't he? Relax, you tried to eat _him_ , multiple times. I think he's okay with your appetite."

If Marco didn't know any better, he'd think Ace blushed.

"Whatever. I'll get you milk and bacon. Anything else?"

Luffy said something again, but Sabo said, "Nah, we're good. See you later."

"Later. Oh, wait! Sabo?"

"Yeah?"

"Something weird happened. Marco thinks Hack came to visit him."

"Hack? Why?"

"Well, I think I saw him leave, and Marco said the man visiting him had webbed fingers," Ace said.

"He asked me if I wrote the book on mythological creatures," Marco said.

The other end of the line stayed silent. "I didn't tell him," Sabo finally said.

"I know, but maybe Koala did?" Ace suggested.

"Why would she?"

"I don't know, man! That's why I said it was a weird thing!" Ace exclaimed. "Look, can't you ask her if she's a vampire?"

"Koala is not a vampire! She doesn't sparkle when she goes outside, and she hasn't showed an unusual amount of interest in my neck, either."

"Then why don't you just ask her, if you're so sure?" Ace asked challengingly.

"Yeah, 'cause that's a normal question. 'Hey babe, I was just wondering if you were a vampire?'" Sabo said, mocking.

"You're just scared she'll say yes."

"Of course I'm scared she'll say yes!" Sabo exclaimed. "Or worse, she'll say no and turns out to be something worse that'll eat me. I don't want to get eaten, man! I should be eating _her_!"

"Dude, you're still on speakerphone," Ace reminded him deadpanned.

"Whatever."

"Just ask Koala if she told Hack," Ace said.

"Fine. But maybe ya'll are just paranoid. He could have just been there for an autograph, you know. Later." With that, Sabo hung up.

"Well then, if we want to make it to the supermarket in time, we still have," Ace checked his phone, "oh, fifteen minutes." He grinned mischievously. "There's a lot we could do in fifteen minutes."

"A lot," Marco agreed, mirroring his expression.

"I know how you can find out."

Marco, who had sensed Shanks' presence, sighed, but Ace obviously hadn't noticed him as he yelped and fell off the bench on his butt.

"Shanks, the hell! Why are you lurking in the dark?!" Ace exclaimed.

"Isn't that what vampires do best," Shanks said, waggling his eyebrows.

Ace looked annoyed as he rubbed his butt and sat back down on the bench. "Yes, yes, I was wrong about you. How long have you been hiding in the bushes?"

"I wasn't hiding, I just happened to overhear," Shanks protested. "And long enough to hear Sabo's a tad sexually frustrated."

"What did you mean with what you said? Find out what?" Ace asked. "Oh, you know Marco, right?"

"I sure do. Marco," Shanks said gravely.

"Hello, Shanks," Marco said in the same tone.

Ace looked from one to the other, then shook his head. "So what did you mean?"

With an impressive leap, Shanks jumped over the back of the bench and slid between Marco and Ace, much to Marco's annoyance. "Well, you want to know if Sabo's girlfriend is a vampire, right?"

"If you're gonna make fun of me again for thinking you were one, you can just leave it." Ace crossed his arms before his chest and pouted.

"I would never! Okay," Shanks corrected himself after seeing Ace's deadpanned look, "I'd always. But not this time! Look, Benn may be human, but he is... overly sensitive for mythological creatures. You know, like gaydar."

"That's what I said!" Ace exclaimed triumphantly, leaning forward to look at Marco. "So he'd know if Koala is a vampire?" he asked Shanks.

"Well, it's not like he can shake her hand and determine her species," Shanks said. "But he does have a certain intuition. I mean, he _did_ know I was a demon before he knew I _could_ be a demon, but that's 'cause he's got a fetish going on." Shanks smirked.

"Didn't need to know that," Ace said. "But you really think Benn can determine if Koala's not, you know, human?"

"Sure he can."

"Isn't that a bit of an invasion of privacy?" Marco said.

"It's not like he's gonna follow her around with a newspaper with holes cut into it," Shanks protested. "Just a handshake."

"Just a handshake?" Ace asked sceptically.

"Just a handshake."

"Alright, I'll keep it in mind," Ace said.

"Great! Just bring her by the bookstore sometime." Shanks rose from his seat. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to disappear into the night." He held his cape in front of his face, eyes just visible, not unlike a vampire would do, looked suspiciously around, waggled his eyebrows, let out a sinister laugh and then, indeed, disappeared into the night – insofar half past eight was night.

"Well then," Marco said. "Are you gonna take him up on his offer?"

"Dunno yet," Ace replied, scooting closer and into the place Shanks had occupied before.

"You can't just let Benn sort out if anyone you encounter is a mythological creature, though." Marco leaned back and placed his arm on the back of the bench behind Ace.

"I know that. But Koala isn't just anyone. Sabo likes her a lot, and I like her too, but I need to know her agenda. So she won't put Sabo into danger. Or bite his neck or something." Ace sighed. "Anyway, it's the last resort. Sabo's gonna ask her if she told Hack about you and we'll see from there."

Marco nodded slowly.

"Now," Ace changed the subject, "where were we?" He grinned and straddled Marco again, but then checked his watch and frowned. "Oh, we need to go." He moved off Marco's lap again, much to Marco's annoyance. "Store closes in half an hour. We promised Luffy bacon and if he doesn't get it, someone's gonna get eaten."


	26. Chapter 26

Thanks MyLadyDay and Vergina-spva for beta'ing

* * *

"Well, I'm going to hit the shower. Koala will be here soon for our date. If she comes while I'm upstairs, you'll let her in, right?" Sabo said, struggling to get up from the couch.

"'Course," Ace said, not taking his eyes off the TV, until he remembered something. "Wait! Did you ask her yet?"

"Ask her what?"

Ace rolled his eyes. "About the book."

"Oh, that. I think I did," Sabo replied, scratching his head.

"You _think_ you did?" Ace repeated slowly.

"Well, I'm pretty sure I did…"

"Alright, if you did, what did she say?" Ace crossed his arms before his chest.

"Well, I mean… I don't know, man!" Sabo exclaimed. "What do you want from me? She was in my lap, wearing a short skirt, I got distracted. I'm only human, I'm weak."

Ace gave him a deadpanned look.

"Oh, please. Like you wouldn't be distracted if Marco was sitting in your lap wearing a short skirt," Sabo snapped.

They both fell silent then. Sabo was no doubt too imagining Marco in a short skirt, judging by the frown on his face.

Marco wasn't the miniskirt wearing type of guy, though, so Ace sighed. "Whatever, man. Though, I'd think you would be more eager to find out if Koala is a vampire. She doesn't have to be a bad vampire. Might as well be a sexy one."

"I'm not a teenage girl, Ace," Sabo said. "I don't fantasise about vampires. I'm a man. I fantasise about mermaids. Now can I finally shower?"

Ace bowed mockingly, gesturing him to pass. When Sabo had left, Ace flopped down on the couch again, reaching for the controller. He didn't often get so much peace and quiet. Luffy was out with his friends, so he only had to deal with Sabo's loud off-key singing in the shower until Koala got there. He could play any game he wanted.

The doorbell rang way too soon, and Ace had to pause on his way to become a famous chef.

"Hello, Ace," Koala greeted him. "Is Sabo almost ready?" Loud singing reached them from upstairs, and Koala winced. "Never mind. Are you going to invite me in?"

"Of c..." Ace suddenly paused mid movement, an idea striking him as he crossed his arms before his chest. "No."

"No?" Koala asked indignantly.

"Yes. I mean no. Don't you think it's weird to wait each time to get invited in?" Ace said challengingly.

"It's called being polite," she snapped.

"Yeah, if only you wouldn't do whatever the hell you want once you're in."

Koala looked both taken aback and insulted. "What's that's supposed to mean?"

"I didn't mean it like that," Ace hastily said. "Just… You know who also needs to get invited into houses? Vampires."

"Vampires? You think I'm a vampire?" Koala asked, eyebrows raised. "Do I look like I'm sparkling in sunlight, or like I don't have a reflection? Or not love garlic?"

She did have a point there; Koala loved garlic. She always put at least three cloves in any food. Any food.

Koala sighed. "Look, I thought Marco was nice and all, and it was cute he has mythological creatures as a hobby, but make sure you're not pulled down with him, Ace. You're being weird."

Ace stepped aside, inviting her wordlessly inside.

"Thank you."

"Did you tell Hack about the book?" Ace asked softly.

"What book?"

"Marco's book!"

"Hm? Yeah, it might have come up," she said dismissively.

"It might have come up? Mythological creatures come up in normal conversation?" Ace asked sharply.

"It comes up when I'm talking to you! Though, yeah, you're right, this is hardly normal conversation," Koala snapped. "Oh, thank God," she added when Sabo came down the stairs.

Sabo raised an eyebrow. "What's up?"

"Nothing," Koala said. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, just gonna grab my backpack," Sabo said, entering the living room.

"Don't forget your coat, it's chilly out," she called after him.

"Could you get it? It's on the coat rack."

Koala turned towards the coat rack, grabbing Sabo's long black coat. Immediately, it slipped from her fingers and fell crumples to the floor.

"Aha!" Ace exclaimed, pointing accusingly. "I knew it! You know why you can't hold his coat?"

"Because I have butter fingers?" Koala replied, eyebrows raised.

"Because I sewed a cross in there. And you know what vampires can't touch? Crosses."

Koala narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms before her chest as she opened her mouth to say something.

Before she could, though, Sabo stuck his head around the door of the living room. "Ace, can I talk to you for a moment?"

Ace didn't have much of a choice, when Sabo's hand reached out and yanked him inside.

Once the door was closed behind them, Sabo turned to Ace. "You like Koala, right? You're not just pretending because she beat you up?"

Ace frowned. "Of course not. I like her."

"Good. That's good." Sabo started to pace up and down. "'Cause I like her too. And I would like her to keep liking me. You get me?"

"Sure, but…"

"So I want you to stop accusing her of being a vampire! Or any other mythological creature, for that matter," Sabo interrupted him.

"But what if she _is_ a vampire?" Ace said.

"I don't care!"

"But a _vampire_!" Ace exclaimed. "A neck-biting, blood sucking vampire!"

"I don't _care_! She can suck whatever she likes! God, Ace! You're completely obsessed. And paranoid. And crazy! Please let it go. For me."

Ace stayed silent for a moment, mulling over Sabo's words. "You're sure you don't want to know if Koala is a mythological creature?"

Something in his tone made Sabo look up. "What do you mean? Do you know?"

"I know a way to find out," Ace said.

Sabo narrowed his eyes. "How?"

"Shanks' boyfriend. Apparently, he has, like, a sixth sense or whatever and he can sense if someone is a mythological creature. He could do the same for Koala."

"No way! I'm not going to let some random dude examine my girlfriend!"

"Okay, a) he's not random. And he's not going to examine her. Just a handshake. According to Shanks, anyway. Then you'll know."

Sabo was silent for a moment, seemingly contemplating Ace's proposal. "No," he finally said. "Like I said, I don't want to know. If she is, then she should be able to tell me on her own time, shouldn't she?"

"You really like her, don't you?" Ace said softly.

Sabo huffed, looking a little embarrassed. "You're quick to catch up."

"Maybe you're right." Ace sighed. "I have gotten a little paranoid. Maybe she is a mythological creature and maybe she isn't. I'll leave it up to you to find out. I'm sorry."

"Don't tell me that. Tell her."

"That you'll find out whether she is a mythological creature or not?" Ace asked, confused.

"No, idiot! Apologise to her!"

"Right!"

When Ace was about to open the door, though, Sabo stopped him. "Did you really sew a cross in my coat?"

"Well, yeah. But not for Koala," Ace quickly added. "I did that when I thought Shanks was a vampire. Luffy's too." Sabo raised his eyebrows meaningfully, and Ace's shoulders slumped. "Oh. Yeah, I get your point about being obsessive. I'll go apologise now."

In the hall, Koala was sitting on the stairs, her head resting on her hand and Sabo's coat draped across her lap. When Ace exited, she looked up.

"Hey, Koala," Ace said sheepishly. "I just… eh… wanted to apologise for calling you a vampire. I got a little carried away with the whole mythological creatures stuff."

"Thanks," she replied, rising to her feet. "I guess I can understand it. I mean, you like Marco, so it makes sense you would want to take interest in his interests."

"Yeah, but don't let this affect your opinion on Marco," Ace hastily said. "Aside from his… eh, hobby, he's really normal. Like, boringly so."

She laughed. "I won't."

"And again, I'm sorry about the vampire thing."

Koala shrugged. "It's okay. I've been called worse in my life."

"Who calls you stuff?" Sabo asked sharply, his whole body screaming that he would beat up the first person she'd point her finger to.

"Nothing." She stroked a lock of hair behind her ear. "I was a late bloomer. And when I did bloom, well, it turns out catcalling is still a thing."

"Men are disgusting," Sabo spat, seething.

"They sure are." Koala pulled him close and combed with her hand through his hair.

"Well, as a man, I'm sorry," Ace said. "Oh, I know!" He ran towards the kitchen, returning with a bulb of garlic, which he pressed into Koala's hand, grinning triumphantly.

"Ehm, thanks," Koala said, a little taken aback. "I was wondering what kind of snack to pick during the movie."

Sabo snorted. "You'd eat that raw? Yuck."

"Yuck? Sounds like I was really wrong about who was the vampire here," Ace said jokingly.

"Yes, yes, very funny. I'm a vampire, Ace is a werecat, we're all mythological creatures," Sabo said.

"Cat?" Koala asked.

Sabo turned to her. "Hm?"

She shrugged. "You said werecat. Werewolf would be a more obvious choice."

"I… Eh… Yeah, I guess that's true," Sabo stammered. "I… eh, just read Marco's book."

"There is no werecat in the book," Koala countered.

Now it was Ace's turn to be suspicious. "How would you know?"

She stared at him, eyes wide.

"Okay, that's enough of that," Sabo intervened. "Ace, you promised, remember? Koala, let's go, before we miss the movie."


	27. Chapter 27

Thanks Vergina-spva and MyLadyDay for beta'ing

* * *

"Ace, Marco's here!" Luffy shouted from downstairs.

"Send him up!" Ace grunted as he lifted the dumbbell to his shoulder for the umpteenth time, pausing when he realised he had lost count. Again. Sighing, he switched arms and started over, not even stopping when Marco opened the door to his bedroom.

"Hello," Marco greeted him.

"Hi. Is any of these books any good?" Ace asked, pointing with his free hand to a pile of books on mythological creatures next to him on the bed.

"Hm?" Marco asked, and when Ace looked up, he saw Marco's eyes were fixated on his bulging biceps. He smirked a little.

"I asked if any of these books would be helpful," he repeated.

Marco tore his eyes away from Ace's arms and sunk down next to him on the bed, looking through the books. "Why, are you trying to get extra credit?" he joked.

"I just want to learn as much as possible and I already know your book inside out."

"Well, they're all rubbish if you ask me," Marco replied. "Are you going to keep training until your arms fall off?"

Frustrated, Ace rose from the bed and dropped the dumbbell, though he was careful not to hit Marco. "Well, at least that'll distract me from all the mythological creatures crap, right?"

"You know what would also help? Not reading books about them."

"Yes, but how else will I learn? Your book isn't particularly helpful when it comes to werecats. Or vampires, for that matter. You'd think there would be at least _something_ in there about vampires!" Ace exclaimed.

Marco looked up calmly. "I couldn't include every species. The book would get too thick. But you know I'm working on a second one. So what's really going on?"

"I don't know! Sabo thinks I'm obsessed with mythological creatures, and I am, I _know_ I am, but it's all I can focus on, and I just…" Frustrated, he grabbed the dumbbell again and started pumping furiously. "What's so funny?!" he snapped, when he saw Marco looking awfully amused.

"Well," Marco said, trying to hide his smirk and failing, "it sounds to me that mythological creatures aren't really your problem."

"What do you mean?"

Marco gave him a serious look, pressing his fingertips together. "Ace," he said gravely, "I think you're horny."

"I am not-" Ace stopped mid sentence. "Oh my God, you're right." He sank back down on the bed. "I guess it's been a while," he muttered. "I mean, we," he gestured between himself and Marco, "never did anything, only building up to it. That couldn't have helped. And before that… I don't think I've done anything since I started changing. Not even to myself," he added, surprised. He turned to Marco. "That's something I should have noticed myself, shouldn't I?"

Marco shrugged, smiling. "You were busy obsessing over mythological creatures."

"Alright," Ace rose from the bed again, "I should take care of that then. Unless…" He shuffled his feet and cleared his throat. "Unless you want to help?"

The smile on Marco's face turned into a grin. "I'd be delighted."

Nervousness turned into excitement, and Ace sunk down on his knees in front of Marco, who gladly took the invitation to kiss him. It wasn't long before the kiss turned more passionate. Marco pulled Ace up on the bed, flipping them over so that he was on top. Marco's shirt somehow disappeared, though it had nothing to do with any weird powers.

"Wait!" Ace suddenly said, and Marco pulled back a little.

"I, ehm…" Ace continued. "Well, I still don't know what you are and, ehm… Do you have a grossly misshapen penis? I'm asking because I only have regular condoms."

"Aren't all penises grossly misshapen, though?" Marco countered.

"Fair point. But is yours… extra weird?" Ace took a deep breath. "Marco, do you have a talking parrot for a penis?"

Marco opened his mouth, closed it, and then opened it again. "No," he finally said slowly. "I can honestly say that it is not, in fact, a talking parrot. Usually, I would ask you why you'd think that, but I'd prefer to go back what we were doing, if that's okay."

"And you're sure you don't have a weird dick?"

Marco chuckled. "Why don't you find out for yourself?"

Ace grinned and pulled him back down.

"ACE!" Luffy yelled from downstairs.

"Just ignore him," Ace said, panting. Marco seemed happy to oblige.

Sabo's characteristic footsteps stomped up the stairs, and Ace hoped by all that's holy that he was just on his way to his room. They would have to be quiet, but there was nothing, _nothing_ , that would stop Ace from having sex with Marco right now.

"Ace." Sabo knocked on the door.

"Go away," Ace yelled between kisses, and added in afterthought, "I'm not here."

"Yeah, you might want to keep your pants on," Sabo said, deadpanned, and something in his voice made Ace stop taking off his pants. "Your mom's here."

"Oh sure, _now_ my mom's here," Ace said, rolling his eyes, when the meaning of Sabo's words suddenly came through to him. "Wait, my mom's here!" He shoved Marco aside, instantly forgotten as he ran to the door, only pausing to zip up his pants to prevent anything from getting in between. Yanking open the door, he ran past Sabo and all but rolled down the stairs, right in Rouge's open arms.

"Mom!" he exclaimed, wrapping his arms around her and pushing Luffy, who had wrapped himself around her waist, out of the way. He smiled when Rouge kissed his head.

Behind him, he heard Sabo coming down the stairs, and his mom said, "Come here, Sabo, I wasn't done with you." She let go of Ace with one arm, stretching it out invitingly.

Ace looked over his shoulder to see Sabo grin embarrassedly before hastening over to Rouge.

"I missed my beautiful boys!" Rouge hugged them tightly, kissing them each on their hair in turn.

Footsteps came down the stairs, and only then Ace remembered he had left Marco half naked in his room. He could feel Rouge stiffen a bit.

"Hello," she said, eyes narrowed and ready to protect her offspring.

Ace hastily loosened himself from her grip. "So, mom, this is Marco. We're… eh… sort of dating."

"Hello, ma'am," Marco replied.

Rouge pulled Ace back into a protective embrace. "Please," she said, "no need to be so formal. Ms Portgas will do."

"Mom!" Ace exclaimed indignantly, but she ignored him.

"You know, Marco," Rouge continued, "how they say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach? Well, the same goes for women. There is nothing more attractive than a man who knows how to cook."

The corner of Marco's mouth slowly curled up. "Got it." He took the last step down the stairs and disappeared to the living room.

"Mom!" Ace hissed.

She shrugged. "What? I'm hungry. I've travelled for a long time."

"Yeah, about that," Ace said. "I love that you're here, but… Why are you here?"

She cocked her head to the side. "You called me. I'm a mom. I'll always come when my boys need me."

"But I never said why I needed you," Ace said. "And you could have called. You didn't have to travel halfway around the world…"

Rouge furrowed her eyebrows, taking Ace's face between her hands. "I figured what you want to talk about, and it's not something you do over the phone with a bad connection. Am I wrong?"

Ace shook his head.

"Good, because I didn't come all this way to find out you got your hand stuck in a peanut butter jar. Again. I take it your brothers are up to speed?"

"Yeah, only recently," Sabo huffed.

That earned Ace a slap against the back of his head from Rouge, though only to make a point, it didn't hurt at all. "Ace D. Portgas, I am very disappointed in you! How dare you keep something like that from your brothers. I raised you better than that!"

"Yeah, Ace, she raised you better than that!" Sabo said smugly, and slapped him against the back of his head too.

"Yeah, Ace!" Luffy followed his example.

"Ow! Mom! They're hitting me!"

"Don't hit your brother!" Rouge said, slapping them both. "Only I can do that."

To Rouge, Luffy and Sabo were as much her sons as Ace. Luffy had never known his mother, and his father had been absent all his life. He had lived with his grandfather, who had been away a lot for work, and Rouge had lovingly cared for him, though he had never stayed permanently.

Sabo, on the other hand, came from an abusive household, and he had been taken away by child services. Rouge had stepped in and taken him into her home without a moment's thought, and even without Ace needing to ask.

Before Ace was born, Rouge had worked for Doctors Without Borders. She had given that up for him, so when Ace turned eighteen, he convinced her to go back, because he knew she missed it. When Luffy had come of age, he had moved into Rouge's house with Ace and Sabo.

"But mom, if you'd told us you were coming, we would have picked you up from the airport," Ace said.

"I know. But your Uncle Rayleigh was kind enough to give me a ride," Rouge replied. "He sends his love."

"Uncle Rayleigh's back in town?"

"He sure is. He'll stop by sometime soon. Alright, we've drifted off topic. Boys, come with me." She led them into the living room, where they could hear Marco rummaging about in the kitchen. Rouge sat down on the couch and patted invitingly on the cushions. They all crawled next to her. It was a tight fit.

Then Ace told his mom everything that had happened in the past months. How he had changed and Luffy had seen him, but hadn't said a thing – which earned Luffy another slap – and how Shanks had sent him to Marco.

"Wait, he did what?" Rouge interrupted him. "That- Ugh! He will get a stern talking to!"

"Someone's in trouble," Luffy grinned.

"Oh, Rouge, did you know that Ace thought Shanks was a vampire?" Sabo said, grinning.

"Shut up, so did you!" Ace slapped him with a pillow.

"Only for a second!" Sabo hit him back.

"Because then I corrected you!"

"Boys!" Rouge exclaimed. "Behave yourself!"

"It's not my fault you think everyone is a vampire!" Sabo turned to Rouge. "He even thinks my girlfriend is a vampire!" His grin disappeared when he immediately realised his mistake.

Her head shot up like a snake catching a prey. "Your what?"

"My, eh…"

"Sabo D. Portgas!" It didn't matter that that wasn't his full name, it was a term of endearment as well as a warning that he was in trouble. "You have a girlfriend you didn't tell me about?!"

Sabo looked a little embarrassed, but couldn't hide the smile forming on his face. "Yeah, I do. Her name's Koala and she's pretty great."

Rouge looked at him for a while and then squeezed his cheeks, turning to Ace and Luffy. "Do you like her?"

"Yeah," Ace said, "she's cool."

"Yes!" Luffy shouted.

"What about Marco? Do you like him?" she asked Luffy and Sabo.

Sabo huffed out a laugh. "Yeah, he's cool."

Luffy nodded seriously. "He looks like a pineapple."

"He does not look like a- Oh wait, maybe he does," Ace interrupted himself thoughtfully.

"It's a good thing I like pineapple then," Rouge said and kissed Ace on the head. "Continue your story."

So Ace did. He told her how Marco had tried to help him with his transformation, and how they had started dating – though he left out the part about the bet. When he came to the part where he showed his brothers the transformation, Rouge asked why it had taken him so long to tell them.

Ace said, "I thought I might hurt them, or try to eat them."

"Nonsense," Rouge said. "They're your brothers. You'd never harm them. But I suppose I can understand why you might think that." She cradled his head in her hands, looking at him sadly. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here for you during this time. When you were born, I was fully prepared for you to be like your father. But when you turned eighteen and had never changed, I honestly hadn't expected it to happen anymore. I thought it would be better to raise you as a normal child, and leave out the part about mythological creatures. That's how I lived most of my life, until I met your father." She sighed. "Obviously, I was wrong. And I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, mom," Ace said, placing a hand on hers. "It all worked out."

The doorbell rang, and Luffy jumped up. "I'll get it!"

In the hallway, they could hear excited chatter, and then the door to the living room flew open.

"Rouge, darling!" Shanks exclaimed, his arm spread wide invitingly.

"Hello, dear." Smiling, Rouge crawled out from under the pile that were her sons and walked over to him. She kissed him on the cheek, and then slapped him against the back of his head.

"Ow! What did I deserve that for?"

"My son comes to you for help and you send him to a stranger?" Rouge asked, her hands on her hips and her foot tapping the floor.

Shanks started to fidget with his cape. "He caught me off guard! I wasn't ready to have 'the talk' with him! I gave him a book and send him to an expert, what more do you want?"

"Shanks D. Portgas!"

"I'm sorry!" he exclaimed, writhing under her stare. "I figured if anyone could help Ace, it would be Marco. His Pops is Whitebeard, you know."

She gave him a scrutinising look. "You sent him to Roger's rival." When he pouted, she sighed and pulled him close. "It's okay. I shouldn't have expected you to do my job. Thank you for looking out for him."

"You're welcome," Shanks said, muffled in the crook of her neck.

"You're such a sweetie."

"I'm not sweet. I am a fearsome demon."

"Yes, you are." She patted him on the back and let go.

"Mom, did you know he was a demon when you let him babysit us?" Ace asked.

"Of course I did, darling. Oh, don't worry. Shanks's just a puppy."

"Oi!" Shanks interrupted. "Fearsome demon."

"Yes, yes. Of course you are." She squeezed his cheek.

"How did you even know mom was here?" Ace asked Shanks. "She barely got off the plane."

"I heard it with my bat ears." Shanks waggled his eyebrows.

Ace gave him an unamused look. "You're never gonna let that go, are you?"

Shanks grinned. "Never!"

"But how did you really know?" Sabo asked.

Shanks shrugged. "Rayleigh called. Actually," he continued, turning to Ace, then changing his mind. "You know what? Never mind. You should ask him."

"Speaking of," Sabo continued, "you're a demon, right? Can you show me?"

"Sure, just don't wet yourself like Ace did." He gave Ace a wink.

"I did not wet myself!"

"Did you scare my boy?" Rouge interrupted sternly.

"Mom!"

Shanks shrugged. "He called me a vampire. I couldn't have that." His body started to transform, the horns sprouting from his head, and Ace saw that Benn had been right, Shanks did have a tail.

"Shanks, you're so cool!" Luffy exclaimed, stars in his eyes.

Marco stuck his head around the kitchen door. "Dinner's almost… ready," he trailed off. "Shanks."

"Marco," Shanks replied, narrowing his eyes.

"Okay, what's the deal between you two?" Ace asked. "Did you used to date or something?"

"Hell no!" Marco said, at the same time as Shanks exclaimed, "Heavens, no!", and they gave each other a weird look.

Rouge looked from one to the other, and finally said, "Shanks, would you like to stay for dinner?"

"I would _love_ to stay for dinner," Shanks said, looking over his shoulder to Marco as he transformed back into his human form. "How kind of you to invite me."

"Yeah, like I said, dinner's about ready. I just have to add some more garlic," Marco said, grinning as he pulled his head back into the kitchen.

"Oh, you're _so_ funny," Shanks snapped.

Rouge chuckled, hiding her mouth behind her hand. "Alright, boys, would you please set the table? I need to catch up with Shanks."

"Yes, ma'am!" They almost tripped over each other trying to get to where the plates were kept.

When Marco entered with a steaming dish, the table was set, and everyone had taken their seat. As soon as Marco put the dish down, Shanks lifted the lid.

"Pasta, _that_ 's what you're are going to impress the in-laws with?"

"It's all the ingredients there were, okay? I can do better," Marco said looking at Rouge. "I promise."

If Ace didn't know any better, he would think that Marco was nervous about impressing Rouge.

"Well, right now I'm starving, so you'll have to prove that some other time. Sit."

Marco did as he was told, while Rouge dished out and slapped Luffy's hand away with practiced ease.

"This is delicious, Marco," Rouge said after taking a bite, and smiled. "Well done."

"You could have gone a little easier on the garlic," Shanks said plaintively.

"Rule one of cooking, never go easy on the garlic," Marco replied.

Shanks huffed, but he did continue eating.

"Are you okay, honey?" Rouge asked after a while, placing a hand on Ace's.

He supposed he had been a little quiet. There was something, somewhere in the back of his brain, trying to get to the surface. It had started when he saw Shanks and Marco interact, something in his mind trying to alert him for something else. But why? He hadn't had that last time he saw Marco and Shanks together. So was it something they said? It was important, he knew that, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Hm-hm," he just said.

She pulled her hand back. "Are you sure? Because Luffy just ate your food."

He smiled. "I'm fine, mom, really. Just thinking."

"That's dangerous," Sabo teased, earning himself a kick.

"Alright." Rouge turned to Shanks. "So, are you currently dating anyone?"

"As a matter of fact, I am," Shanks replied. "A human, can you believe it. Oh, he's also a famous author."

"Typical you have to say it in that order," Sabo muttered.

"Really? Did he write anything I know?" Rouge inquired.

"He wrote _The Demon Wears Armani_."

Her face was blank.

 _'_ _He had never seen one of them before, but the man standing in front of him was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen_.' Ace closed his eyes as the words came back to him. He had read them somewhere, recently, but where?

"Really? Nothing? They're making a movie out of it!"

"Sorry," Rouge said, not sounding sorry at all, "I was busy saving lives."

 _'_ _His hair was blond, but the sides of his head were shaven_.' Ace's eyes flicked up to Marco's head. ' _His eyes, the bluest he had ever seen, like never-ending pools… But it was that smirk, that all-knowing grin, that made him want to count his sins.'_

"That's always your excuse," Shanks said, smiling. "Anyway, he's working on a new book now. Ace is proofreading it, aren't you, Ace?"

The book! Ace shot up, his chair falling backwards, landing with a clang on the floor. Everyone looked at him, startled, but Ace hardly even noticed. "It can't be," he muttered. "I have to be sure."

He ran towards the couch, throwing aside papers, books and videogames lying around until he had dug up the manuscript.

"Ace, what are you…?" Rouge started, but Ace wasn't listening.

He flicked through the book, trying to find the page as he returned to the table. It couldn't be a coincidence, could it? He found the sentences he was looking for, before he finally looked up at Marco, excitement written all over his face.

"I know what you are," he whispered, slowly lowering the book. "You're an angel!"


	28. Chapter 28

Thanks Vergina-spva and MyLadyDay for beta'ing

* * *

Everyone was silent, and they were all staring at Marco. At first, he sat frozen, merely raising one eyebrow as he looked at Ace's eager face. He was so sure he was right.

Finally, Marco moved, placing his fork next to his plate and dabbed his mouth with his napkin. He then rose and walked around the table towards Ace.

Ace watched him approach with wide eyes.

Right in front of Ace, Marco stopped. White, dove-like wings sprouted from his back. Ace's eyes widened even further when Marco said, "Well done," and tilted Ace's chin upward before he kissed him.

For a moment, Ace melted against him, when he suddenly seemed to realise everyone was watching. He pushed Marco away. "Not in front of my mom!"

"What's this about Benn's book, then?" Marco asked, picking up the manuscript Ace had dropped when Marco kissed him. "Have you used me as a reference?" he asked, amused.

Now everyone looked at Shanks.

"What? How many angels do you think I know? Benn asked for inspiration, so I described Marco. Sue me."

"So you don't mind the sex scene between you two?" Ace asked.

Shanks blinked a few times, before he said, "Beg your pardon?"

"The sex scene," Ace repeated. "The one between the character that looks an awfully like you and the one that looks like Marco?"

"That bloody pervert!" Shanks jumped up and ran around the table, ripping the manuscript from Marco's hands.

"You didn't know then? Didn't you read the book?"

"I didn't get that far yet. If I'd have known he'd put in a sex scene, I wouldn't have described Marco, now would I?" Shanks snapped. "Who in his right mind would want to have sex with Marco?"

"I can think of someone," Marco said, smirking.

Ace elbowed him in the ribs. "Not in front of my mom!" he hissed.

Marco shrugged. "Never said it was you." He laughed when Ace elbowed him again.

Meanwhile, Shanks was furiously reading through the book. "Unbelievable! 'He put his _what_ in his _what'_?!"

"Well, now at least we've learned Shanks's dating a pervert," Marco said.

Shanks looked up from the book and narrowed his eyes. "So's Ace."

"Still, an angel. That'll get you instant in-law approval, right?" Sabo said, looking at Rouge.

She huffed. "If I'd believe every story I heard, I wouldn't have let Shanks babysit you. So I'll be keeping my reservations if you don't mind. Nothing personal, Marco."

"Finally, some justice," Shanks sighed. "Usually, it's 'Oh, look an angel, let's worship him!' 'Let's start a new religion!' So annoying."

"I just mentioned she was pregnant, it was obvious!" Marco protested. "That it would be a boy was a fifty-fifty chance. The story got way out of hand."

"See, he gets that," Shanks said plaintively. "You tell one woman she needs to eat an apple, because she has obviously scurvy, and suddenly, you're the reason mankind went to hell! Figuratively speaking, of course."

Ace, Sabo and Luffy stared blankly at them.

Shanks looked back at them, but then continued flipping through the book. "'Most beautiful creature he'd ever seen'?! Ha! Don't make me laugh! Like hell I'd ever described him that way!"

"It's okay if you have a crush on me," Marco said, winking.

"You wish!"

"Boys!" Rouge interrupted them. "Finish your plates. Oh, never mind," she added when she caught Luffy licking Shanks' plate clean. "Still, behave."

Shanks pouted, but when Marco moved to sit down, Ace grabbed his hand and pulled him into the kitchen.

As soon as the door had fallen shut behind them, Ace combed with a hand through his hair and looked a little embarrassed. "Look, I'm sorry I outed you like that. And, you know," he coughed, "that we were interrupted before."

"That's okay," Marco said. "Shanks already knew about me, and I don't doubt the rest would have found out soon enough."

"Still, I can't believe I was right," Ace said with a grin. "Or rather, I can't believe I'm dating an angel! Can you show me again?" he asked excitedly.

Marco smiled and spread his wings out again.

"Ace, come help clear the table!" Rouge shouted from the living room.

Ace pouted and quickly pressed a kiss on Marco's lips before he hurried back. Marco followed him.

"Shouldn't you be helping?" Ace said to Shanks.

"Would you look at the time! I still have some ass-kicking to do. Bye, Rouge, it was lovely seeing you again. Keep those boys of you on the straight and narrow."

"Will do." She kissed his cheek. "And bring your beau by soon. I want to meet him."

"Of course! I can't live without your approval." There was not a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Later, boys. Ace, see you at work." With a whirl of his cape, he left, and the rest continued to clear the table. Rouge picked up the dish and moved to the kitchen.

Seconds after the front door was slammed shut, the one from the living room opened again and Koala entered.

"Hi, that… eh, guy let me in," she greeted them.

Sabo had just collected the plates, which slammed back on the table as they slipped from his hands. "I… I wish you'd called," he stammered.

She frowned, huffing. "What, why? Do you have your mistress over?" she joked.

Just then, Rouge emerged from the kitchen, and Koala paled as realisation hit her.

"Please tell me that's your mistress," she whispered.

Sabo shot her an apologetic look, as Rouge said, "Well, hello."

Sabo cleared his throat, leaving the dirty plates on the table as he walked over to Koala. "Koala, meet Rouge. Rouge, this is Koala."

Koala was still frozen in place, her eyes wide as a deer caught in headlights. "Hello, Ms Portgas," she finally stammered. "It's nice to meet you. Sabo's told me so much about you."

"Likewise," Rouge said coolly. "Though Sabo has told me _nothing_ about you." The latter sounded accusing and was aimed at Sabo, who smiled sheepishly.

Koala looked at him reproachfully as well, when her eye caught Marco, and she visibly relaxed. She probably thought a problem shared is a problem halved. She was probably right.

"Boys, why don't you go do the dishes while Koala and I get ice cream for dessert," Rouge said. "Marco, you too."

Marco and Koala exchanged a look, and Koala gulped. She then turned to Sabo, who was skilfully evading her glance.

"Sabo, what kind of flavour do you want?" Koala asked, forcing him to look at her.

"What, you don't even know his favourite ice cream flavour?" Rouge asked. Marco studied her to see whether or not she was joking. The way she was currently looking, horns wouldn't have looked misplaced, and Marco wondered if she was related to Shanks after all.

"I eh," Koala stammered, and Marco looked at Ace desperately as he tried to mouth something.

"Don't worry, _I_ know what my boys like." Rouge pointed at Sabo. "Chocolate chip and anything caramel." Her finger moved to Ace. "Anything chocolate." Next up was Luffy. "Well, just anything."

Rouge checked her watch. "We should go, before the parlour closes. Come along now." She moved into the hallway. Marco followed her, taking his coat from the coat rack, starting when Koala was suddenly next to him.

"Do you think she's going to kill us?" she whispered.

Marco looked at Rouge, who was standing in the doorway. The devilish look from before had disappeared, and with the setting sun shining through her almost pinkish hair, it almost looked like she had a halo. "No," he finally said slowly. "Not right away, anyway."

She did not look put at ease, but did follow Rouge outside. "Do not leave me alone with her," she hissed.

"Ditto," Marco muttered.

"Well then, Koala," Rouge started as they headed for the ice cream parlour. "I wasn't kidding when I said Sabo had told me nothing about you. Now don't blame him," she continued when Koala opened her mouth to say something. "It wasn't easy for us to communicate. I only found out the day before yesterday Ace tried to call me a few months ago. So tell me about yourself. How did you meet?"

"We met in karate class," Koala replied.

"You're doing karate? Which level?"

"Brown belt."

"Oh good, that means you can kick Sabo's butt. He needs that sometimes," Rouge said thoughtfully.

Koala beamed.

"What else do you do in daily life?" Rouge asked.

"Ehm, I'm studying archaeology…"

"That's nice. Marco, you?"

Marco was a little caught off guard when he was suddenly pulled into the conversation. He had hoped the drilling of Koala would go on a little longer. "I teach zoology."

Rouge seemed to consider his reply. "That's nice too," she finally said. "I mean, it's not saving life like my job, but I guess we can't all do that."

Koala and Marco exchanged a look.

"I'm just kidding." They had just arrived at the ice cream parlour, and Rouge sighed and turned to them. "Look, I know you're desperate for my approval, and in all honesty, I kind of like that. It's good to be feared. But those boys were raised well. I should know, I personally took care of that." She smiled fondly. "I trust their judgement, and they seem to like you a lot. All of them. So all I want is to get to know you. I mean, don't get me wrong," she continued. "If you hurt a hair on their heads, I will hunt you down to the end of the earth. But until then," she smiled innocently, "you have nothing to worry about. Except that I will be judging you based on your choices of ice cream flavours. Come along now."

They exited the parlour again with enough ice cream to feed Marco's family, Marco thought, but he had seen Ace, Sabo and Luffy eat, so it wouldn't be a problem.

As soon as they entered the living room again, Ace and Sabo jumped up from the couch, but Luffy was too engrossed in whatever videogame he was playing to even notice.

"Are the dishes done?" Rouge asked.

"Yes, mom. Are you okay?" Ace asked Marco, a worried frown on his face.

Rouge rolled her eyes. "Please, honey. If I was going to harm him, you would have never found the body."

Ace opened his mouth to reply, when Luffy suddenly exclaimed, "Ice cream!" and dove toward the bag Rouge was holding.

Rouge slapped his hand away and started to hand out the cups to the rightful owners as they gathered around the table.

Once she had finished her portion, Rouge moved her chair back. "Alright boys, I'm still a bit jetlagged, so I'm off to bed." She rose as they all wished her goodnight. Before she left, though, she stopped and bent down, picking up Benn's manuscript. "Can I read this? Apparently, I'm a little behind on times."

Ace shrugged. "I don't think Benn will mind."

"'Demons and Angels'," Rouge read out loud. "What it about?"

"Well, demons. And angels."

She raised an eyebrow. "That's not very imaginative. I liked the other title better. Koala, do you know that book? What was it again?"

"'The demon wears Armani'."

"Oh my God, what?! I _love_ that book!" Koala exclaimed. "Is that the sequel? How?"

"Shanks – the guy who let you in – is dating the author," Ace explained, taken aback when Koala looked like she was about to squeal.

"And you can read the manuscript of his new book?" Koala said after a few steadying breaths. "What's it like?"

"I haven't finished it yet, but it's pretty good. Shanks isn't too happy about it, though," Ace said.

"Why not?"

"'Cause there's a homoerotic sex scene between a character that looks like him and one that looks like Marco," Sabo said, biting back his laughter.

"Yeah, now that I know that, I kind of like it less," Ace muttered. "But it's pretty homoerotic in general. So you gotta like that."

"Please, with all the homoerotic fanfiction she writes, she'll be fine," Sabo said. "Ouch!"

Koala gave him a warning look.

"What? It's good! I mean, there are a bit too many penises for my taste, but the prose is good."

"How many penises?" Ace asked innocently.

Koala groaned and hid her face.

"Alright," Rouge said, looking fondly at her silly kids, "I'm off then. Goodnight, boys. Koala. Marco."

"Wait, mom!"

She turned around.

"How long will you stay?" Ace asked.

"At least until the next full moon." With a wink, she left.

"So you're not one of the boys yet," Sabo said to Marco triumphantly once she was out of earshot. "That's bad news."

"Neither is Koala," Ace shot back.

"She's not a boy!"

"Neither is Marco!"

"Don't get conceited because you're dating-" Sabo stopped midsentence and glanced at Koala. "An older man."

Koala raised an eyebrow as she looked from one to the other. "So, what's your mom's stay got to do with the full moon?"

Ace exchanged a look with Marco. "Ehm, she's very superstitious. Anyone up for cards?" he quickly changed the subject.

As he scurried off to find a deck, Koala leaned with her hand on the table. "She is pretty amazing, though. I mean, I know she was joking about our occupations, Marco, but she's actually saving lives."

Ace returned to the table with a deck of cards. "Yeah, she's a true angel." He stopped, looking at Marco, who almost choked on his spit. He then looked at Sabo, who wasn't in a much better state.

Koala raised her eyebrow again. "What's so funny about that?"

"Nothing," Ace said, choked, and coughed a few times. "Nothing," he repeated. "Texas Hold 'em, anyone?"

"So, about that fanfiction," Ace continued as he was dealing the card.

"Leave it, you're not reading it." Koala turned up her nose as she looked at the hand she had been dealt. "And the answer is three."

A grin appeared on Ace's face. "Nice!" He held up his hand for a high five, but lowered it again when Marco raised an eyebrow.

"Don't even think about it."

Ace pouted and slowly raised his hand again towards Koala, who did high-five him. And then Luffy did too, but mostly because he just liked high-fiving, Marco suspected.

They played cards for a while, until Koala announced she was going home.

"You're not staying?" Sabo asked, taking her hand.

She snorted. "With your mom here? No thanks. I bet Marco isn't staying either, are you?"

"I've been almost being caught with my pants around my ankles once too many already," Marco muttered, but declined to repeat it when prompted.

"But it's dark out and you missed the last bus," Sabo protested.

Marco rose from his chair. "You live at the university campus, right? I can give you a lift, if you want."

"Really?"

He shrugged. "I have to pick up something at my office, anyway. I was planning on going tomorrow, but now's fine too. If Sabo is willing to let you go, that is."

Sabo looked from one to the other.

She chuckled and kissed Sabo's hair. "Thanks, Marco." She tried to pull herself loose, but instead of letting go of her, Sabo wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her shirt.

"Seems like it's past someone's bedtime," Ace said teasing.

Sabo turned his head to glare at him, but still held on.

"Alright, big guy. I have class tomorrow, you know. And Marco's waiting."

Reluctantly, Sabo let go and allowed himself to be kissed.

"Okay, bye!" Koala called quietly after Marco had said goodbye to Ace.

Outside, Marco pointed her to his car. Once they were inside, Koala heaved a sigh of relief as she fastened her seatbelt. "Seems we survived."

"You mean Rouge?" Marco said, amused.

Koala huffed. "Yeah. I'd liked to have some preparation time before I met what's basically my mother-in-law. Didn't she catch you off guard?"

"Considering Ace didn't even know she was coming, yeah, she did."

"Why did she come back now, though?" Koala wondered out loud. "Sabo said she hasn't been back for a long time."

Marco shrugged. "I guess she just missed her boys."

"Probably." Koala smiled. "She's one hell of a lady, right? I mean, working with Doctors Without Borders is already amazing, but also being a single mom _and_ raise two kids that aren't even your own? If I'm half that awesome by the time I'm her age, I'm considering myself a winner."

Marco smiled and braked before a traffic light that just turned red.

A tap on the window startled them both, and Marco grabbed at his heart until he saw a familiar face in the window. Koala pushed the button to roll down the window, and Robin popped her head in.

"Hi Robin, what are you doing here?" Koala asked.

"Just taking an evening stroll. I saw you sitting in the car and just wanted to make sure you weren't being kidnapped." She smiled. "Hello, Marco."

"Oh, you know each other?" Koala asked.

"Through a friend of a friend," Marco said, his eyes flicking up to Robin.

"Of a friend," Robin added.

"Okay." Koala turned to Robin. "Marco's taking me to campus. Do you need a ride somewhere?"

A smile played around her lips. "Campus will be fine. If Marco is willing to take another passenger."

Marco shrugged and kept his face stoic as usual. "The more, the merrier." However, as Robin stepped into the backseat, Marco couldn't help but wonder if she had anything up her sleeve. She probably knew Koala from archaeology, which Koala studied, and Robin was working on her PhD in the same field. They seemed to be on a more friendly basis than the usual student-teacher relationship, though. It made Marco wonder if Koala knew about Robin's true nature.

Their conversation revealed nothing particularly interesting. They immediately dove into the topic of archaeology, and Marco tuned them out. What was the fun in archaeology if you'd already seen the actual civilisations in real life?

At the university, Marco parked closer to the dorm, rather than his usual spot near his office. Together, they stepped out of the car and strolled towards the building.

"Are they doing renovations?" Marco asked, looking up at the scaffolding surrounding the building.

Koala nodded, an exasperated look on her face. "They have been at it for months, and they always start super early in the morning."

"So that's why my students are always falling asleep in class," Marco mused.

Koala exchanged a look with Robin. "I'm sure that's it."

In front of the door, they stopped.

"Well, thank you for taking me home." She turned to Robin. "See you in class tomorrow."

A bunch of drunk students walked past, swaying back and forth. One of them bumped into the scaffolding, laughing loudly as he moved on.

Koala rolled her eyes. "And _that's_ what's keeping me up at night. And now I can't even sleep over at Sabo to catch some shut-eye." She sighed and let herself fall against the scaffolding.

Something moved, and Marco barely saw the thing falling in time. "Watch out!" He pushed her out of the way, tripping over his own feet. Something heavy fell on his leg, and he bit his tongue not to scream.

"Oh my God, your leg!" Koala exclaimed.

Marco looked down. The thing that had fallen on his leg turned out to be a steel beam. "It's just a scratch," he said through gritted teeth.

"Your leg not supposed to bend that way! I'm calling an ambulance."

"Please, Koala, that isn't necessary." Marco looked pleading at Robin.

"If your guardian angel says he is fine, I would believe him," Robin said, a smile playing on her lips.

He was sure she wasn't randomly picking those words, and he narrowed his eyes at her as he pushed the steel beam off. Examining the damage, he realised that Koala was right. That was _not_ how his leg was supposed to look. It was very nasty.

"You just saved my life! Let me help you!" Koala pulled out her phone.

"Koala, please! It's not necessary!" Marco tried to fight it, but his survival instincts were too strong. His healing powers kicked in, blue flames dancing across his leg, and Koala shrieked.


	29. Chapter 29

Thanks Vergina-spva and MyLadyDay for beta'ing

* * *

His phone vibrated against the nightstand, and Ace all but hung from the ceiling as his heart beat madly inside his chest. Cursing, he picked up the device to see who would dare to disturb his slumber. Marco's name was flashing on the screen, and his anger faded, making place for worry.

"Hey, Marco. What's up?" he asked sleepily.

"Hi, Ace," Marco replied gravely. "I'm sorry to have woken you, but we have a problem."

"We, who?" Ace asked, confused. "What's wrong?"

Marco remained silent for a moment. "Something… happened tonight when I brought Koala home."

A thousand things went through his mind, but the image of Koala in Marco's arms was the one that lingered. "We, who?" he repeated through gritted teeth.

"It's not what you think, Ace," Marco said soothingly. After a pause he added, "It may be worse."

"Are you okay? Is Koala okay? For the love of Pete, Marco, you suck at this!" Ace all but yelled in the receiver.

"I'm fine, and so is Koala," Marco hastily said. "On our way over to Koala's home, we met Robin."

"Robin's not that bad to call her a problem," Ace protested. "Luffy says she has a bit of a strange sense of humour, but you're just being mean."

"Will you let me finish the story?" Marco snapped. "She rode with us to the university campus, and I walked them to Koala's dorm. They are renovating the building, and a beam fell down. It almost hit Koala, but I got her out of the way. But it hit me."

"Oh my God, are you okay?! Wait, you just said you were okay. How are you okay?!" Ace shrieked.

"I have healing powers, Ace," Marco explained. "Those manifest themselves in the form of blue flames."

"That must be so cool!" Ace exclaimed. "You have to show it to me sometime. So what's the problem then?"

"Ace," Marco said seriously, "Koala saw."

The phone almost slipped from his hand. "Oh, we do have a problem," he muttered. "Hold on, Marco."

Ace rose from his bed and slipped out of his room through the hallway until he stopped in front of Sabo's door. Pushing the doorknob down, he stepped inside.

"Oi!" Sabo exclaimed, putting his hands hastily above the blankets.

"You can masturbate on your own time, this is important." Ace held up his phone. "Marco's on the phone."

"I wasn't masturbating," Sabo protested, just when Ace put the phone on speaker. "Hi, Marco," he said, sighing.

"Sorry to interrupt you," Marco said, and Ace could practically hear him smirk.

"Why are you here?" Sabo asked, annoyed.

"So," Ace sat down on the edge of the bed, "something happened with Koala."

"What? What happened?! Is she okay?" Sabo grabbed Ace's shoulders in absence of a shirt and shook him violently.

Ace pushed him away. "Yeah, she's fine. Knock that off. She just… Well, she saw Marco's leg being on fire."

Sabo stared at him for a moment, blinking slowly. "Wait, what? How did that even happen? Is… he okay?"

"Yeah, it's a power thing," Ace said proudly as if he had known all along. "Anyway, she saw it."

"She saw Marco's powers?! What did she say?!" Sabo reached forward to shake Ace again, but he moved out of the way just in time.

"I don't know! Marco, what did happen?"

On the other end of the line, Marco sighed. "She screamed when she saw the fire, which attracted attention. A few of her friends came out, but when they asked what happened, she said she screamed because the beam fell, but that it hit neither of us. Her friends then took her inside, and Robin, who was there too, went in with them." Marco paused for a second. "I have no idea what she's thinking, but she must have seen."

The door to Sabo's bedroom opened and a sleepy looking Luffy came in, rubbing his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing, Lu. Just Marco's leg being on fire," Ace replied.

"Okay. Night." With that, he left.

Ace looked at the closed door and pursed his lips. "Sometimes I wonder if he even listens."

"For the love of…!" Sabo grabbed his phone and scrolled through his contacts. "You, shush," he told Ace. "Koala?" he said when Koala apparently picked up the phone and put her on speaker. "I just heard about the beam falling, are you okay?"

"Oh, who told you? I'm fine, Marco pushed me out of the way," she replied.

"Marco called Ace and he told me. Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, I mean, I'm a bit shaken up, but Nami, Vivi and Robin are here, so I'll be fine," Koala said.

"Okay," Sabo said slowly. "And nothing else happened?"

"What else should have happened?" she bit. Then she sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm just tired and shaken. I really appreciate that you called. I have to go, though. The girls are here. I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, goodnight," Sabo said.

"Goodnight." She hung up.

"Well, that's just great. Now my girlfriend is lying to me." Sabo threw his phone at the foot of his bed.

"She's not lying," Ace said soothingly. "She's just evading your questions and omitting to tell the truth."

"And how exactly is that better?"

"That's… Well… I guess it's not." Ace said back down on the bed again. "Marco, did you get all that? What do you think it means?"

"I got most of it. I don't know, Ace. Either she didn't see, which I can't imagine, or she did see and thinks she's crazy, or she knows mythological creatures exist and tries to protect me. Which is rather sweet."

"Either way, she's lying," Sabo snapped.

"To be fair, you're lying to her as well," Ace pointed out.

Sabo shot him a deadly look. "Thanks for that. No offence, Ace, but I liked life better before you were a werecat. It was much simpler."

"That makes two of us," Ace muttered. "Marco, I don't think there's much we can do tonight. I'll let you know once I find out something."

"Yeah, try to get some sleep. Night, Ace. Sabo."

"Night." Ace pressed the button to end the call. "Are you okay, Saab?"

Sabo glared at him, probably for abbreviating his name, and then started to sulk. "No, I'm not okay. I'm lying to my girlfriend, she's lying to me, and I _know_ she's lying to me. And this whole mythological creature business is only getting more complicated. I mean, Shanks? Of all people? A demon. And Rouge knew, she _knew_. Were we babysat by any more demonic creatures? Was my kindergarten teacher one? Who knows!"

"Sabo? You're spiralling." Ace patted him on the leg. "I know it's complicated, and I know the lying sucks, and the not knowing. I've been through that before I told you." He placed a hand on Sabo's shoulder. "Marco's right, get some rest, okay?"

"Yeah, whatever." Sabo lay down with his back turned towards Ace.

Ace shrugged, picked up his phone and went back to his room.

* * *

For the first time in years, Ace woke up from the smell of unburned pancakes. He was out of bed within seconds, but on the stairs, he already had to fight his way down the stairs when Sabo tried to tackle him.

In the kitchen, Rouge was already waiting with two plates of pancakes in her hand. "Morning, boys."

"Morning, mom!" Ace called, at the same time as Sabo said, "Morning, Rouge!" and they both snatched a plate from her hand.

"Uh!" she called when they attempted to go to the table and tapped both her cheeks simultaneously with her index fingers. They both turned back, and each gave her a kiss where indicated.

"Good boys. Now eat your pancakes now that you've still got a head start."

They didn't need to be told twice. Once Luffy was down, it was eat or be eaten. Fortunately, Rouge was an expert when it came to making food for her boys. There was already a steaming pile of pancakes waiting.

"How did you sleep?" Rouge asked. "I thought I heard some rummaging about last night."

"Sorry, we didn't mean to wake you," Ace said with his mouth full.

"That's okay, honey. I still have a bit of a jetlag, so I didn't expect to sleep well." She smacked him gently on the back of the head. "And do not talk with your mouth full. I raised you better than that. What's wrong, honey?" she asked Sabo when he stopped eating and only stabbed at his pancake with a fork.

"He's sulking-" Ace started again with his mouth full, but after a sharp look from his mom, he hastily chewed and swallowed. "He's sulking 'cause Koala is lying to him."

"She did what now?" Rouge asked sharply.

"It's not like that," Sabo intervened. "No reason to go all momma bear. She may just be protecting Marco."

Before he could tell her what had happened though, they were warned by a loudly yelled "Pancakes!" before Luffy launched himself into the room and grabbed Sabo's plate from under his nose.

"Luffy D. Portgas!"

Luffy stopped eating, Sabo's pancake already half finished, and looked at Rouge with big, owlish eyes.

"Oh no, son. Don't you dare use your puppy eyes on me. What did we discuss about stealing food?"

"But Rouge!" Luffy whined.

"No buts, mister! I had a whole pile for you, but now Sabo gets it." Demonstratively, Rouge picked up the plate and put it in front of Sabo.

"But Rouge!" Luffy whined again.

"Uh-uh, I warned you." Then she smiled. "And you didn't pay."

Luffy perked up and gave Rouge a peck on her cheek.

She smiled. "Good boy." She moved the plate in front of Luffy, who immediately started eating. "Now, tell me what happened."

"Marco's leg was on fire," Luffy said between bites.

Rouge sighed. "Did I raise you boys in a barn? No talking with your mouth full! And what is he even saying?"

Ace told her what had happened with Marco. When he was done, Rouge hummed and stole some pancake from Luffy without losing a hand.

"So Koala doesn't know that you know that she knows what really happened. If, and I'm saying if, Koala is protecting Marco, I suppose that's admirable. Though it is just as likely she's just pretending she didn't see anything."

"Do you know what you're going to do yet?" Ace asked Sabo.

"Obviously not," he snapped. "That's why I'm sulking."


	30. Chapter 30

Thanks Vergina-spva and MyLadyDay for beta'ing

* * *

They spent the rest of the morning playing video games, and Rouge joined in too, just like old times. She sucked at racing, but once she practiced a little, she kicked their butts in the fighting games.

They only looked up when the doorbell rang.

"I got it!" Luffy yelled and sprinted towards the hallway. Shortly after, they heard arguing, and Luffy came back into the living room. "Shanks's here." He grabbed his controller again and pressed play.

Ace pressed pause again and looked up when Shanks came into the living room, followed by Benn. "I still can't believe you did that," Shanks said over his shoulder, obviously irritated. "Hello, boys. Rouge."

"What's wrong, honey?" Rouge put her controller to the side and rose from the couch. "Hi, I'm Rouge," she said as she stretched out her arm towards Benn. "You must be Shanks' beau."

"For now," Shanks grouched.

"What's going on? Are you fighting?"

"Ace, we're gonna need the book back," Shanks said through gritted teeth. Benn just huffed, his arms crossed before his chest.

Ace frowned. "But I haven't finished it yet. And Rouge started reading it too."

Shanks looked like he had just been slapped in the face with a fish. "Rouge, tell me you didn't!"

"I did. It's quite… titillating. What's going on, Shanks?"

Shanks looked at Benn. "Do you want to tell them?" he snapped. When Benn opened his mouth to reply, Shanks turned back to Ace and Rouge. "That _thing_ you have, that monstrosity, that is not the real book."

"What does that even mean?" Ace asked, confused. "It's a book."

Shanks turned to Benn again, his lips pressed together. "Care to explain?"

Benn shrugged, looking slightly smug. "It's not the real book. Look, it's your own fault, Shanks. You shouldn't have lied to me. I asked him to read the first draft of my book," he said, turning to Ace. "He said he would, and that he loved it. But I knew he didn't read it."

"But instead of calling me out on it, you know what he does? He rewrites the book!"

"I rewrote the book," Benn said, now looking completely smug. "I knew it would irritate him if there would be a sex scene between someone that looked like him and someone that looked like Marco. I asked him to read it again. But does he do it? No! But he said he did. So I had to take drastic measures. So when Ace said he liked my previous book, I figured he would tell Shanks at some point." Benn turned towards Shanks. "Stop whining. You deserved it."

"Wait, wait. So you wrote a homoerotic book about Shanks and Marco purely out of spite?" Ace asked, still confused.

Benn shrugged. "Obviously. After _The Demon Wears Armani,_ you really think that my publisher lets me publish what's basically porn and homoerotic at that, under my own name?"

"You rewrote your book out of revenge," Rouge said, musing. Then she smiled. "That's what I call dedication. Welcome to the family, Benn."

Ace elbowed Sabo in the ribs. "See that? We only have to convince Marco and Koala to create some kind of elaborate revenge plan, and they're golden."

Rouge looked over her shoulder. "They'll have to do better than just writing a novel, though." Then she turned back to Shanks. "I'm sorry, Shanks, but it does sound like you deserved it. And I'm still going to finish the book."

"But Rouge!" Shanks whined.

Just then, the bell rang again. "I'll get it!" Luffy shouted and ran into the hallway. "Uncle Rayleigh!"

"Uncle Rayleigh?" Sabo and Ace also stormed into hallway. There, Rayleigh was standing in all his cool uncle glory, with Luffy clung to his back.

"Hello, boys," Rayleigh said, baring his ridiculously white teeth.

"Uncle Rayleigh! Did you bring us anything?" Ace asked eagerly. Uncle Rayleigh always brought them the coolest toys back from his trips.

"Ace!" Sabo hissed, before turning to Rayleigh. "Did you?"

"I figured you'd be too old for toys," Rayleigh said innocently.

"Aw!" They all three pouted.

"Just give it to them before they explode." Rouge appeared in the hallway.

Rayleigh smirked and produced small packages from his coat, which he handed to the boys.

"Awesome!" Ace exclaimed when he had unwrapped the jar with unknown content. "I have no idea what it is, but I love it. What did you guys get?"

Sabo and Luffy shrugged. "I don't know, I can't read it," Sabo said. "I think it's food. Thanks, Uncle Rayleigh!"

Rayleigh had walked over to Rouge and kissed her cheeks. "And how are you? Fully landed yet?"

"Still a bit jetlagged, but otherwise good. And I have my boys now." Rouge smiled at them as they still tried to figure out what Rayleigh had given them. Luffy had already opened the jar and emptied the content into his mouth.

"It's good," he muttered.

Rayleigh smiled and ruffled Ace's hair. "I keep forgetting how big you've gotten. And you, Ace, start looking more like your father every day."

"A bit too much like his father since a couple of months," Rouge said, leaning against the doorpost.

"Really?" Rayleigh grabbed Ace's face, opening his eyes further with his fingers and inspecting his teeth.

"Only during a full moon, Rayleigh. Could you please stop prodding at my son now?"

Rayleigh let go of Ace's face, who rubbed his cheeks with a pout. "Sorry about that. But I'll definitely want to be there next full moon."

Rouge shook her head and Rayleigh laughed as he followed her into the living room. Ace fought off Luffy from his mystery jar and followed them as well.

Shanks and Benn stopped their bickering and looked up. "Oh, hello, Sir."

Shanks had always been reserved and polite around Rayleigh, frighteningly so. Ace hadn't paid attention to it until now. But to earn the respect of a demon of at least hundreds of years old, Uncle Rayleigh had to be pretty awesome.

"Benn," Benn said, holding out his hand. "Benn Beckman."

"Nice to meet you." Rayleigh took his hand.

The moment their skin touched, Benn's eyes widened slightly. "I, ehm, heard a lot about you." With his free hand, he rubbed uncomfortably at his neck.

"No way!" Sabo suddenly exclaimed. "Uncle Rayleigh is a vampire?!"

"Wait, what?" Ace looked at Rayleigh, who smirked.

"I thought you'd never guess."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Ace exclaimed. "That's not fair! Benn basically gave it away. That's cheating!"

"How is that more cheating than just accusing everyone of being a vampire until you finally get it right?" Sabo asked smugly.

"I only did that twice!" Ace protested. "Okay, three times, but I didn't really think Marco was actually a vampire."

Rayleigh looked at Rouge, who chuckled. "Yes, _that_ Marco. Ace seems quite fond of him."

"At least they got it right this time," Shanks said. "Ace thought that _I_ was a vampire, can you believe it? Unlike you, I'm not all like, 'I'm a vampire. Bleh, bleh bleh.'"

"I don't say bleh, bleh, bleh," Rayleigh countered. "That's such a stereotype."

"So where were you, Uncle Rayleigh?" Ace asked.

Rayleigh paused and cleared his throat as he glanced at Shanks. "Transylvania. It was for a conference," he hastily added.

"Aren't you retired, Uncle Rayleigh?" Sabo asked.

"It was a vampire conference, wasn't it, _Uncle_ Rayleigh?" Shanks said mockingly.

Rayleigh narrowed his eyes at him. "We're just a very organised species. And that it was in Transylvania was purely coincidental!"

"Uncle Rayleigh is so cool," Ace whispered at Sabo.

Shanks had stopped listening as he looked down with a frown to his fingers that were intertwined with Benn's. "Wait, I was mad at you!" He pulled back his hand. Benn just rolled his eyes.

For the third time, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" Luffy called once more and ran back into the hallway. This time, he returned with Thatch.

"What are you doing here?" Ace asked surprised. "Thatch, everyone. Everyone, Thatch."

"Hi there! Well, we haven't seen you in a while, and Marco told us you told your brothers about your… eh, situation."

"No need to tiptoe. Everyone here is up to date," Ace said.

Thatch visibly relaxed. "That makes it easier. Shanks, long time no see. Who's salt 'n' pepper?"

"Benn Beckman, nice to meet you." Benn held out his hand. His eyebrows rose when their skin touched. "You are one powerful being."

Thatch grinned. "Well, I don't need to brag but… Demigod."

"Really?" The corners of Benn's mouth curled upwards.

"My god!" Shanks exclaimed. "You don't have a demon fetish. You have a power fetish!"

"That's preposterous," Benn said with a snort.

"Then would you kindly stop checking him out?"

"I'm not checking him out! I'm-" Suddenly, Benn gasped for air and wrapped his arms around himself.

"He's taken," a voice said. Izo suddenly appeared, his arms crossed before his chest.

"There you are! I thought you decided to wait in the car," Thatch said, and then frowned. "But we talked about passing through people without their consent. It's rude."

"Oh, a ghost! That's so cool!" Luffy exclaimed. "Pass through me! Pass through me!"

"That sounds like consent to me," Izo said smugly and dove down towards Luffy.

Luffy gasped and doubled over. "Do it again!" he laughed.

Izo shrugged and obliged him, several more times, until the doorbell rang again.

"I'll get it!" Luffy shouted, distracted, and ran into the hallway.

"Dammit, did we send out invitations?" Rouge muttered.

"Sabo, Koala's here!" Luffy yelled.

"Oh, fuck, I forgot!" Sabo cursed.

"Language, young man!" Rouge warned him.

"Oh… Fish… sticks," Sabo muttered. "I forgot I promised Hack I'd help out in the dojo today."

"So what do we do about you-know-who?" Ace whispered.

Sabo raised an eyebrow. "Dude, she's my girlfriend, not Voldemort. And honestly, I don't know. Just follow her lead, I guess."

"Oh, do I sense drama?" Shanks asked, a little too eagerly.

"Just… act normal," Sabo replied with an eye roll.

Everyone, including Rouge, assumed a position that was somehow incredibly suspicious. Only Izo blended in with the environment by turning invisible.

Sabo pinched the bridge of his nose, and Ace gave him an encouraging pat on the back.

Luffy entered the living room, followed by Koala and Hack. Koala raised her eyebrows, but Hack's face showed no sign of acknowledging anything amiss.

"Are you having a party?" Koala asked.

"Ehm, no, no party," Sabo said. "Koala, you already know Rouge. Hack, Rouge. And this is Uncle Rayleigh, he was a friend of Ace's dad. And that's Shanks, also a friend of Ace's dad and currently Ace's boss…"

"And your former babysitter," Shanks added.

Sabo ignored him as he continued, "And that's Thatch, he's a friend of Ace's, and Izo- I should introduce you to Benn," he hastily corrected himself. "He wrote _The Demon wears Armani_."

Koala, who had been nodding politely at everyone, lit up. "It's so nice to meet you! I'm a big fan. I mean, I'm Koala, Mr Beckman."

Benn smiled. "I'm flattered. Call me Benn." He held out his hand.

Koala gasped and all but shot forward to clasp his hand.

Sabo's eyes widened. "No!" he yelled and slapped her hand away.

"Ow, Sabo, what the hell?" she called, rubbing her hand.

"Sorry!" Wide-eyed, Sabo looked around for help, but everyone was suddenly very interested in their shoes or the ceiling.

"He just went to the bathroom and I don't think he washed his hands," Ace helpfully supplied.

Koala looked at Benn horrified. "Ew. So that's why they say, 'Never meet you heroes'," she muttered as she wiped her hand to her skirt, even though he hadn't even touched her.

"Hey now, I always wash my hands," Benn protested.

"What's the big deal?" Shanks asked, with an eye roll. "I never wash my hands."

Now everyone looked at him with a mix of disgust and horror.

"'Cause I only got the one…" Shanks held up his hand in surrender. "It was a joke."

"In this house we don't joke about personal hygiene, mister," Rouge said.

Shanks pouted.

Hack cleared his throat. "Well, then, this was very pleasant, but we'll need daylight when cleaning up the dojo. They haven't finished with the electricity yet."

"Right," Sabo said, and Ace saw he tried to take Koala's hand, but she pulled way. Ace was certain Sabo had washed his hands after going to the bathroom, Rouge had taken care of that.

"Will you be back for dinner?" Rouge inquired.

"I'm not sure yet, I'll let you know." Sabo gave Rouge a kiss on her cheek and turned to leave.

"Oi, where's some sugar for your old babysitter?" Shanks tapped on his cheek.

Sabo just ignored him and ushered Koala and Hack outside as quickly as possible, casting a meaningful look at Ace.

At the door, Koala turned around. "It was nice meeting you all," Koala said. "Mr Beckman, Ace told me he is proofreading the manuscript of your new book. I can't wait until it's published."

"It's not a book. It's revenge porn," Shanks snapped.

Koala looked at Sabo confusedly, who just rolled his eyes. "I'll explain later."

Once the door had fallen shut behind them, Ace finally breathed out. "Well, that could have been awkward. It's a good thing Marco isn't here."

Shanks snorted. "Yeah, it is. Wait, you actually like him, so why do you think that?" He gasped. "Is he involved in the drama? Come on, Ace, dish! Wait, we should get popcorn first. Mama Rouge, is there any popcorn in the house?"

"Never call me that again," Rouge said. "But you are right, Ace, Luffy, we have been neglecting our guests. Come help me make tea."


End file.
